Forced Contemplation
by Oh Please
Summary: Trapped with nothing to do but think! Quote from Chap 19 His normal contrariness reared its ugly head and he almost refused the food simply on principle. Yet, the smile on her face reminded him so much of Rin when she would offer him what she considered
1. Chapter 1 Waking and How Did I Get Here

AN – This is a revised story. Some of the original chapters have been combined and some have been improved. Enjoy.

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Disclaimer –Yes, yes. We all know that if I owned any rights to Inuyasha, I would be getting paid to write these stores, which I'm not. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. These characters and situations are fictional. Any similarity between the characters and actual individuals is completely unintentional. Member FDIC. Discontinue use if rash occurs. Hmmm, that should cover most disclaimer situations. On with the show.

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Summary – Kagome's life is so full of responsibilities that she barely has time to even breath, not to mention stop and think about consequences and mysteries. Now, Kagome finds herself trapped in a cave, and pinned under a mountain of rubble after a battle with Hakudoshi. The worst part is that Inuyasha and her friends have no idea where to find her. They think she was either vaporized along with Sesshomaru in an attack, or transported along with him to where ever his orb carries him. Sesshomaru is also trapped in the cave with her, but he's in worse shape. His only arm is broken and his body is shredded from taking the full brunt of an attack. To make matters worse, he doesn't seem to be healing. Something is hindering his demonic healing ability.

Boredom finally sets in as there is nothing to do but think. Kagome goes through her journal of her adventures and realized some startling truths that she has never had the time to contemplate. Like, "If Koga who's a full demon has a tail, and Shippo who's a full demon has a tail, does that mean Sesshomaru has a tail? And why doesn't Inuyasha have a tail when he transforms?" and "Hmm, if smell is so important to dogs, and Inuyasha said I had a nice scent, what do I smell like? What do dogs like back at home? The smell of bacon? The smell of prey? The smell of other dogs' behinds? Gosh, I hope he wasn't telling me I smelled like a dog's privates." It's amazing what a head injury and boredom can do to a poor girl's sanity.

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Chapter 1 Waking then How did I get here?

Sleep was such a rare and wonderful thing. Too often the impatient, loud Inuyasha would disturb her dreams even when she was at home for her rare class attendance. How she longed for a week of nothing to do, no reason to rise early, and the only thing on her agenda was cloud watching. And of course, bathing for hours at a time with scented candles and scented bath salts.

Her favorite time of sleep is that hazy period between deep sleep and waking. The time where part of her mind knows she's sleeping, and enjoying it immensely. The funniest part about this in-between world was how her mind would sense things in the real world and transmute them into active parts of her dreams. The best imports into her dreams were cooking smells in the morning. The worst imports were when she really had to go to the bathroom, but was too tired to wake up. Her dreams would become tortured hunts for a restroom that wasn't broken or exposed to public view. Yes, she knew she had weird dreams. At least, she had yet to have a nightmare about a snake demon popping up through the drain of the toilet and having to purify it with an arrow. Considering the strange life she led, the occasional toilet adventure was quite tame.

This time she woke enough to know that she wasn't any where near awake, but her mind was trying to import some uncomfortable things into her dreams. It was enough to drag her consciousness up a bit to wonder about them.

The first was pain. She must have fallen asleep on her desk for her back to be suffering such a crick. Or maybe, she had fallen asleep on the ground on a pile of rocks. Her mind was only registering a bit of pain, but she couldn't tell from what part of her body it originated.

The next sensation her hazy mind noticed being imported into her dreams was the cold. Sometimes she woke with her feet being so cold that even 3 layers of socks under her flannel sheets did not help. Once your feet were cold, it was almost impossible to warm them up. But this was more than just her feet. This felt more like the time she had to sleep on an air mattress in the winter because they had company. And like any air mattress worth its purchase price, it began deflating during the night to the point where her rump was on the ground. Normally that wouldn't be so bad, except that the room was unheated, and the freezing temperatures were transmitted through the floor and into her rear end. Cold seeped all the way down her legs and up into her chest. At one point, she even got up and put on her winter coat. It was the coldest she had ever remembered being at night, and it was impossible to warm up or go to sleep. Her Mom didn't understand why she was so irritable the next day, but she tried to be nice for the relatives. Still this morning, her mind was nagging her about why she was so cold. It was the bone aching cold that made her want to bury her legs under her Mom's legs on the couch.

The cold did more for waking her to her uncomfortable surroundings than the pain did. Until she shivered. Sharp, stabbing pain blossomed under her right breast and she gasped as her eyes snapped open. Or, at least, she tried to gasp. There was a crushing weight on her chest and back that only allowed her to take in half a breath. She exhaled and tried again with the same results. What on earth?

Her pain addled mind started trying to take notice of her surroundings as she realized she was laying face down on a hard surface. She never slept on her stomach, even at home. In the forests, the ground was just too hard on her breasts, and at home, her mattress was dished like a hammock, and put a strain on her spine when she slept that way.

The pain that had only barely registered before was suddenly quite obvious and crippling. Her mind registered pain all the way from her head, to her back, to her legs. Her breathing picked up to a shallow, panicky pant. That was all she could muster, and each inhale hurt.

She struggled to open her eyes. Wondering, all the while, why her eyes felt like they were glued shut, or crusted over. She blinked once and the lack of vision increased her sense of rising panic. What had happened? She obviously wasn't waking from a casual nights sleep, either in the modern era, or the Feudal Era.

All she could hear was her own racing heart and her own panting breath. All she could see was darkness. Wait, to her right, there was a small shaft of light. She jerked her head in that direction, and regretted it immediately. The pain arching through her neck and skull was enough to have made her scream, if she could have drawn a proper breath. Instead, all she could manage was a strangled squeal. Her stomach twisted with nausea and dread.

As the pain dimmed in her head, she realized she could make out some objects in the dark. There were large gray boulders strewn about below the shaft of light. Some light reflected up to illuminate a small, dust filled cavern, about the size of a mini-van. She was in a cave. NO! Her panic escalated up another notch. She hated small spaces! Especially, small spaces with no door out! She could only tolerate elevators in the modern era, and then, only because they were brightly lit and she was only in them for a minute at the most.

Terrified sweat appeared on her brow and upper lip as she began panting, "No, no, no, no!" and struggled with all her might to squirm out of whatever was holding her in this horrifying place. Each twist felt like her legs were being torn off, but she couldn't stop herself anymore than a wild animal in a trap could stop from chewing off its trapped leg to escape.

Her vision began to sparkle with white stars around the outside edge of sight. She couldn't get enough air in her panicked state. She was suffocating, which only made her struggle harder. She couldn't breathe fast enough to supply the oxygen her body needed! She finally realized her situation. She was lying on top of one rock, with what felt like half a house lying across her back. Another rock? She was pinned between two rocks?

Her mind barely registered a deep, raspy voice from the darkness as she was slowly losing her battle to remain conscious. "Calm yourself." The white stars quickly overwhelmed her sight, and then sounds became distant. Finally, she knew nothing and drifted into the blackness of unconsciousness.

The next time her mind came up from the darkness, she remained still as the memory of fear made her wary to awake. The pain was still there. The cold was still there. The nausea was still there. The only thing that seemed different was that she could draw a deep breath. How was that possible? What happened to the boulder that had been pressing down on her back? She could still feel the ache on her upper back where the offending weight had nearly crushed her lungs.

Opening her eyes tentatively, she waited for them to adjust to the low light. Even that low light level sent a stab of pain through her head from her eyes to the back of her skull. Again, there was a faint shaft of light to the right, but it seemed to be fading away to nothing. She slowly lifted her head off the rock despite the pain this caused in her neck and back, deciding that leaving her face against a cold slab of granite was not the best idea for her aching head. Not to mention, that now her face was also cold. Dust drifted down through the shaft of light, and she assumed it was drifting down everywhere.

The walls were rounded, and oddly shaped, without the typical stalagmite formations that she had seen in movies that indicated water. The floor was not smooth like she had seen in other movies where people lived in caves with floors that looked like poured concrete. The floor was a rough jumble of boulders of every size. And there was a massive boulder sitting to her immediate right about three feet away, and a smaller rock that looked almost pulverized leaning up against her waist on her right side.

As she gently turned her head farther to her left, she was shocked to find her backpack within reach on a smaller boulder that rest just below the boulder her top half was resting on. She reached out a shaking hand to touch the sturdy yellow pack to make sure it was indeed real. Bloody fingers grasped the worn strap and rubbed the reassuring canvas and nylon. A sigh escaped her lips at the thought of comfort that simple gesture brought.

As she continued her right to left scan of the room, she could barely make out a lighter area to her immediate left. Since it was on the opposite side from where the tiny shaft of light cast any illumination into this dark hole, she couldn't tell if it was a boulder, or her imagination. As she sometimes did at night, she continued to stare at the object until her eyes could finally adjust and see better.

It was several minutes later that recognition hit her with a gasp. The shape moved, ever so slightly and she realized that she was looking at a face that was only three feet away. A very white face, with two dark marks on each cheek. She could just barely make out the large white fluff that was wrapped around the shoulders under the face. Sesshomaru!

His trademark, deep voice sounded too quiet and raspy as she heard him pant, "Remain calm. I moved the boulder that was crushing you." This statement was followed by some harsh wheezing which sounded like repressed coughing. Her fear spiked instantly as she realized he was trapped in here as well, and seemed to be injured.

She couldn't help herself from asking, "What happened? Where's Inuyasha?" But, she wasn't really expecting an answer. She would have talked to herself and asked the same questions if she were alone. There is something comforting about hearing a voice, even if it's your own voice, when you are scared.

She racked her brain to try and remember what had happened just before this. She barely remembered a typical Feudal era morning. Inuyasha barked for them to hurry up. They heard rumors of an exceptionally strong demon terrorizing a village in the next valley. Miroku sweet talked a town elder into providing a hot lunch. Hakudoshi! That's right. He had attacked them with Moryomaru and Kanna.

Her mind drifted back thinking about how Sesshomaru ended up there. His pack had crossed paths with their own around mid afternoon when they had all stopped near the edge of the afflicted village. Jakken, Rin and Ah-Un had been ordered to stay there as Sesshomaru advanced alone in search of the demon believed to be Naraku's. Inuyasha, not one for being ignored, or beaten to a fight, raced after him, leaving his friends behind.

Kagome felt bad for Rin, being left alone like she was. Surely, Jakken was not enough protection, this close to a possible Naraku incarnation. Kagome lagged a bit behind Sango and Miroku, keeping an eye on the cheerful girl. Sounds of battle were heard nearby. How could it not be, when Inuyasha was so gleefully screaming out the name of his attacks.

Trees exploded just in front of Kagome, and she had to cover her face with her arms, and huddle down close to the ground to prevent being blasted apart with flying splinters of wood. In the gap created in the trees by the latest attack, Kagome could see the two brothers blasting at the barrier that surrounded Hakudoshi.

In a new trick, Hakudoshi's barrier was gathering and returning the blasts of demonic power released from the brothers' swords. Kagome was awed at the combined effects of Inuyasha's Adamant Barrage and Sesshomaru's Dragon Strike. If she had been closer, Kagome would have added a sacred arrow to the wave of destruction headed for the barrier. Surely, this would be enough. The combined power of the sons of the Great Dog General.

Sadly, it was not. The barrier glowed fluorescent for a moment before returning the wicked blast in her direction. Kagome only had a moment to throw herself to the side, over a fallen tree before the blast tore up the ground where she had been standing. When she gathered the courage to look back over the trunk of the tree, she saw a smoking crater that rivaled the burial site where the wind tunnel had taken Miroku's Dad. She heard a squawk coming from further to her right and turned to see the charred earth ended dangerously close to Rin, Jakken and Ah-Un.

In an instinctive move, Kagome sprinted back to the little group that she had worried about. Jakken might have the staff of two heads, but Kagome was unsure what fire could do against Hakudoshi and the reflected blasts. If she didn't know better, she would swear that he was targeting his blasts towards Rin. But, why would he do that? Maybe it was just a genetic trait built into all Naraku's creations to want to weaken the Inu brothers by endangering their loved ones? If that were the case, than Naraku wasn't as clever as they all believed him to be. Once their protective instincts were aroused, both brothers fought many times harder than normal. Surely, Naraku had noticed this by now.

Regardless of the reason, Kagome knew that she had to do something to guard Rin. Her mind flashed through all the things that Kaede had taught her and the meager skills she had developed to control her spiritual powers. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. What would be helpful? She jumped over a large chunk of wood that had a moment before been a healthy tree. Would a purifying arrow cut through the ricocheted combined blast? She slid to a stop just before Ah-Un. Would her bow deflect the blast like she had Tsubaki's curse? She turned to hear more thunderous attacks from what was now a clearing. Could she just toss the girl onto the dragon and fly away and wait for the brothers? She watched as Inuyasha jumped before the next redirected blast and attempted to use his back-lash wave attack to send the force swirling back against Hakudoshi.

It didn't work. Kagome's eyes were as large as saucers as she screamed his name in support and fear. "Inuyasha!" She remembered Inuyasha telling her of the one other time the back-lash wave didn't work, and that was against Sesshomaru's own dragon strike and his father's dragon twister from Sounga. The crackling blue light and diamond tipped barrage overwhelmed the swirling winds of the back-lash wave and blew Inuyasha to the side in a bloody heap. The destruction continued its path towards her and Rin. Rin screamed in her childish panic, "Lord Sesshomaru!" and cowered behind Kagome.

Kagome pulled her bow and arrow up and launched her strongest attack against the certain death that was nearing. The arrow twisted through the energy and dissipated a portion of the strike before it too was overwhelmed and disintegrated. Behind her, Jakken was mounting Ah-Un and trying to pull Rin up to the saddle in an attempt to escape. Kagome watched the swirling blue death come near and held out her bow in front of her. Maybe she couldn't stop it, but she could deflect it enough to give Ah-Un a chance to get in the air.

The blast was upon her before she could form another thought. She braced herself and angled the bow to deflect the brunt of the attack to the side away from Rin and her group. But Rin would not detach herself from Kagome's waist, even with Jakken screaming and pulling. Kagome screamed as the pain tore through her hand and arm that gripped the glowing bow. It wasn't enough. The blast was breaking through and leaking around her aura.

Suddenly, Sesshomaru flashed into existence behind her and grabbed Rin. In one fluid movement, he tossed Rin to Jakken on the dragon and ordered, "Fly!" in a commanding booming voice. Then, Kagome's bow crumbled under the pressure of the demonic blast and she shrieked in pain. Sesshomaru threw himself in front of the priestess that had saved his Rin and took the remaining blast straight into his back. He wrapped himself around the tiny woman and tried to prevent any more harm to her. He had survived blasts from Sounga and Tetsusaiga, he was sure he could survive this.

The flash of light from the attack was overwhelmed by the glowing to life of Tenseiga's barrier. All who watched were temporarily blinded. The barrier had saved his life before when in battle with Inuyasha, and it appeared ready to repeat the action. Unfortunately, part of the blast had been deflected downward, and a large rumbling, crack appeared beneath their feet. In the midst of her pain, Kagome thought this was the portal to Hell that Kikyo had tried to drag Inuyasha into. But, then, the ground had cracked open to reveal a dark abyss below them. Gravity did the rest by pulling them with the falling ground down into the black cavern below.

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	2. Chapter 2 As the Dust Settles

Chapter 2 As the dust settles.

Almost totally incapacitated by his injuries, and plunged into almost total darkness, Sesshomaru cursed himself for allowing the situation to get this far out of hand. He prided himself on self-control and foresight. The fact that he had allowed this situation to develop angered him to no end. He had not foreseen Hakudoshi targeting Rin and Jakken with the reflected blast. Although he was aware that Inuyasha's priestess had lagged behind the advancing group, he had not realized that she felt a need to protect his Rin.

He had witnessed the maternal instinct in some human females to protect a child, any child. This Kagome took that protective instinct to an extreme. She even protected the little fox kit, Shippo, as if he were not a demon to be feared and destroyed. He had never in all his travels far and wide heard or witnessed another priestess who cared so strongly for a demon child.

When he realized Rin was under attack, the woman had already moved to place herself between Rin and the impending danger. Sesshomaru knew he was fast, but he admitted to himself that he didn't know if he would have arrived in time but for Kagome's intervention.

He was not sure if it was gratitude, respect or concern for her wellbeing that had compelled him to shield this strange woman after assuring that Rin was away and safe. His pride labeled the action as gratitude since he would not admit, even to himself, to possessing any gentler emotions. It had seemed as natural as breathing to move in front of the screaming woman after her defenses had failed.

So, here he lay, once again, injured by Tetsusaiga. He really had to stop doing this. It was ironic in a sense. The one sword he truly coveted was the only thing that had truly injured him. And just as the last time, he could not even move. His body was so damaged that he could only think and breath, and even breathing hurt. What an impressive sword. His mind wandered a bit as he remembered witnessing his all powerful Father wielding the might Tetsusaiga in battle against the most insurmountable foes.

His injuries actually hurt more than the other time Tetsusaiga struck him because at that time, the Wind Scar was the only strike involved. With it combined with his own Dragon Strike, he was more gravely injured, even though the exposure was for less time. He could feel every gaping wound and bleeding gash sting like acid as his body attempted to heal. His only comfort was his Mokomoko-sama that was gingerly wrapped around his shoulders like a lover's caress. That, and the fact that the battle above them had diminished into silence. Although there was not the pleasing scent of that Naraku spawn's blood to indicate he had been killed, neither was there the smell of the blood from any of Inuyasha's pack. The battle had ended and no allies had been killed. That thought alone had eased his mind a bit. Good allies were hard to come by, especially when anyone with half a brain would run in the opposite direction at the mere approach of the Demon Lord Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru's eyes slowly adjusted to the almost complete darkness. He huffed when he realized what a small space he had been confined to. It was no larger than some dungeons he had seen in his travels. How disgraceful! One would think the fates could have arranged a more suitable cell for someone of his station. But, at least, there was little chance that a random, wandering lower level demon would discover him in his weakness. His Father would never forgive him if he appeared in the underworld after having been dispatched by such a pathetic opponent. Admittedly, his great and terrible Father had suffered the final blow from his battle with a human, but he would have died from the fatal wound received by that deceitful dragon, Ryukotsusei.

For a moment, Sesshomaru's mind wandered to the day that his Father had died. No one had known of the depravity of the human lord, Takemaru of Setsuna. How a human lord could covet the mate of the Great Dog General was insanity. But as is the case with the insane, they sometimes are capable of deeds that a normal being is not. Somehow, the human had coerced that evil dragon from the mainland into an alliance for the purpose of destroying the Great Dog General and taking over the Western lands.

On any normal day, Sesshomaru knew that his Father could have defeated the dragon, though not as easily as he slew most of his enemies. But Takemaru was clever and discovered the day of Inuyasha's birth, knowing that the pain and distress of his human mate in labor would distract the dog demon and lead to his inevitable demise. On top of that, Takemaru had kidnapped the Lady Izayoi as a contingency plan in the event that the dragon was not capable of upholding his part of the bargain. Sesshomaru had never been able to ascertain if the insane human's plan had been to hold her as a hostage or to destroy Inuyasha and take her as his own. Unfortunately, the truth died with the man in the flames of the destroyed castle that

Sesshomaru had never understood the human philosophy of "if I can't have you, no one will." It made little sense to his demon mind, even knowing what limited information he had on human "love." That did not seem to fit the definition of love that he had heard. It seemed more like a spoiled child who didn't get his way and was determined to make everyone around him suffer for his unhappiness. Did these idiots not consider the afterlife? Surely, those two souls would not end up in the same eternity. Even nearly immortal demons, like himself, understood about the afterlife.

Wasn't love supposed to be about doing whatever it took to make the other person happy? Caring so much for another that you didn't mind making sacrifices? Sharing yourself with the other to the point you were like two halves of one whole? At least, that was what his Father had told him, and that was how it was written about in the many scrolls he had studied over the centuries from both human and demon authors. Somehow it seemed that love was something beyond the everyday struggle to survive and reproduce. It was loftier than rutting in the woods. It was more than mere possessiveness that Takemaru had displayed. Possessiveness was about control, and love was about the ultimate giving up of control to another. Love was risky and therefore, most demons did not expereince love.

He once again turned his mind away from his internal musings to assess his situation. The little cave was dark and small, but there was fresh air and a small tube of sunlight shining down through a hole in the ceiling. To his right, he thought he heard breathing and movement. He hurt so badly, he could not even move his head, but he sniffed deeply to determine who or what was near him. His mind almost laughed at his surprise to smell Kagome, his brother's traveling priestess. It only made sense that she would have fallen into this Hell with him. He almost laughed at himself for not realizing this earlier. If she was bent on his destruction, he would have been purified while he was still so unaware.

The noises of panting and struggling increased beside him as he realized the girl was panicking. He could smell her fear, and feel the incredible waves of her power assaulting his already agonized body. He needed to do something before she injured him past the point that his healing abilities could recover. He ordered "Calm yourself." And was rewarded by a lessening in her struggles and panting. Her powers also receded to a more manageable level, but did not retract completely. They continued burning him with a feeling that he tried to ignore.

Turning his head ever so slightly, so he could see the girl out of the corner of his eye, he realized it had not been his command that had calmed her. The girl had fallen unconscious. He was rather shocked at her predicament. She had been caught in the collapsing debris of the cave in, and was pinned between two boulders. It could not be beneficial to human breathing to have such weight on her ribs.

Without even really thinking about what he was doing, he slowly unwound his Mokomoko-sama from his shoulders and snaked it around the boulder above her. If he simply rolled it away, it would likely cause her more damage. So, he used what was left of his waning strength, and lifted the rock to clear her body, and flicked it away. That such a simply action would exhaust him so only proved his earlier thought that he was indeed more injured than he had ever been before.

He closed his amber eyes and allowed nothingness to fill his mind as he tried to separate from the pain of his body. Only the movement of the girl next to him drew him up out of the inky blackness a while later. He felt that he had to advise her of him moving the boulder that restricted her breathing before she panicked again. Then came the inquiries about their situation. But, unlike most of his experience with the priestess, she became quiet and lost in her own thoughts. Usually, she was the most annoyingly talkative person he had ever had the misfortune to meet. Now she was eerily quiet. She must have been gravely injured also. To think, a mere human taking the brunt of the blow that had injured him so gravely. 'She better be injured!' He thought. It would not do for her to walk away from the battle unharmed while he could not even move.

Kagome barely remembered the sensation of falling and the surreal vision of dirt, rocks and grass tumbling down around her, and then the top of the cave collapsing back down. She thought it was going to fill in the hole and crush her. Then, darkness and pain swallowed her.

So, here she lay. Face down on top of a boulder. Her legs trapped by other boulders and dirt. Apparently, the layer of rock that formed the roof had only caved in enough to close up the hole and left them with a bit of room to breath. Sesshomaru had fallen in also and seemed to be in as bad a shape as she was, or worse. For if he were healthy, he would have torn out of this confinement before the dust could have settled.

So, where did that leave her? She took inventory of what she could. First priority, was to get that damn rock out from under her ribs! She shifted her upper body up onto her elbows, ignoring the scream of pain through her bruised back and neck, and then pushed up with one arm enough to swipe the offending pebble out from under her. As she rested back down, she sighed in relief.

Next order of business was to see if she could free herself. If not, then she would have to wait for Inuyasha to find them, or wait until Sesshomaru was healed. She grabbed for her backpack, and with all the remaining strength in her uninjured hand, she dragged it up onto the rock she occupied. It was hard to lie face down on the rock and reach up into the bag, but she managed, even though it started a dull muscle ache in her shoulder.

Finding her trusty long-life, shock-resistant flashlight, she twisted around at the waist, and shined the beam towards her legs. It was a shock to see that she essentially seemed to be a torso growing out of a solid wall. She couldn't tell if her legs were bleeding, or even still attached for that matter. The rocks and dirt had completely filled in to cover her. She stopped before she panicked again and reminded herself that she could feel pain and cold in her legs, so that must be a good sign that they were at least still there. Right? So, she tried to wiggle anything below the waist. Her reward was increased pain and no movement of the wall.

Ok, so she couldn't get herself out. Someone else would have to dig. So, she turned to inspect the closest "someone" to her. She shined the flashlight on Sesshomaru's form, being extra careful not to shine the powerful beam in his sensitive eyes. His clothes were shredded, most likely from deflecting the blast after her bow imploded. Blood seeped out every where she looked. Even his hair looked shredded and was stained pink. His armor was completely gone. His only remaining arm seemed to be twisted at an awkward angle. Was his arm broken? She could tell from the lack of reflection that his eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sleeping comfortably wrapped in his big, no longer white, fuzzy shoulder thing. If his eyes were open, would they reflect green like a cat's did at night?

Her mind drifted to what the fuzzy thing was. She once fancied it as his tail, except that when she saw him transform in the Great Dog General's tomb, he had that same extra fluff running over his shoulders, like the mane of a lion, almost. It must be attached, though, because she had seen him use it to strangle Inuyasha once. Her dazed mind half wondered, 'If Koga who's a full demon has a tail, and Shippo who's a full demon has a tail, does that mean Sesshomaru has a tail? And why doesn't Inuyasha have a tail when he transforms?' She pictured Sesshomaru with a white, bushy tail wagging behind him as he squared off against Inuyasha in battle. A half smile broke out on her face. Then, she pictured Inuyasha with a stiff, bristly tail like an angry cat as he was drawing his sword on the other side of the battle field. A half snort escaped her at the strange image her mind created.

Since she was wondering about Sesshomaru's dog form, she wondered about Koga. 'Can Koga transform into a giant wolf like Sesshomaru transforms into a giant dog? Will Inuyasha ever be able to transform into an animal?' She spent a minute trying to imagine Koga as a giant wolf, and her best friend as a smaller version of Sesshomaru's giant dog form. Somehow she thought Inuyasha would end up looking more like a puppy. It almost made her giggle.

Then her mind snapped back to reality. She called out, "Sesshomaru. Is there anything I can do to help you?" The silence stretched out and she wasn't surprised he didn't answer her. He was self-sufficient and proud. She knew it was a struggle to get Inuyasha to allow her to bind his wounds and he was only half demon. She was sure Sesshomaru would be twice as bad.

His quiet voice whispered around the cave, "I will heal .Tend your own wounds." Kagome was shocked to get an answer, and she was also shocked at the breathy quality of his voice. Like he had run and was winded.

Okay, so, Sesshomaru would not be digging her out anytime soon. So, what about Inuyasha? She finally asked her companion. "What happened to Inuyasha?" again, she waited patiently, hoping the Lord of the West would have an answer.

It seemed like a full ten minutes later that he rasped out an answer, "Inuyasha continued to fight. Then it was quiet. We have been here half the day." She had to shake the cobwebs out of her head to actually think about that.

Her last sight of Inuyasha had been him being blown aside into a bloody heap. Did he even know what had happened to them? Would he know where to look? What would he think when she and Sesshomaru both disappeared? Would he think they had perished? Would he think that Sesshomaru's sword had protected them both and carried them away from the battle? Then fear gripped her as she realized that Inuyasha had been left alone to fight an opponent that together, he and Sesshomaru had not been able to even scratch. And what of Sango, Miroku and Shippo? They would not have run away. They would have all kept fighting until they either won or died.

Apparently, Sesshomaru could either sense or smell her fear because he ordered. "Fear not. Your friends are strong fighters." in a tone similar to those he used with Rin. Kagome was reassured by the sentiment, but worried by the tone of his voice. Then, he made a soft whuffing noise and added, "Besides, he knows only I am allowed to kill him." She clicked the flashlight off so she wouldn't have to witness Sesshomaru's sick amusement over the death of his own brother. She just couldn't understand that. She would gladly die to protect and defend her only little brother. It's what big sisters and brothers did. How these two had gotten so twisted that they hated each other was beyond her understanding.

Her mind returned to the uncomfortable situation they were in. So, rescue would be a while in coming. They needed to survive until it arrived. Survival equaled food, water, shelter. Oh, and no demons walking by thinking they looked like a buffet or demanding her jewel shards.

She thought of her back pack. They could survive quite a while on the dry Ramen noodles she had packed. And there were a few bottles of water she could ration. They were in a cave that didn't seem to expose them to the elements, other than the cold and it kept roaming hungry demons away. She had medical supplies for cuts and such, and more importantly, warmer clothes. If she had known she would be squatting in a dank, cold cave later in the day, she would have dressed accordingly. Instead, she had dressed for the sunny day of walking above the ground.

She couldn't do much about the clothes on her lower body, but she was sure, if she piled enough layers on her top half that she could stave off the shivering cold. She reached back up into her bottomless bag, and began pulling out every piece of clothing she had. What she couldn't actually wear, like extra pants, she could pile under her torso to cushion the hard rock on which she rested. It took longer than she expected, since she was half pinned to the rock face. But, with a bit of struggle and a lot of pain, she put on two extra t-shirts, a long sleeve shirt, a cardigan sweater and her rain jacket. She even pulled out some gloves that she had forgotten to remove from a front pocket of her bag. If she had not been lucky enough to find gloves, she would have forgone the embarrassment and put some socks on her hands. As it was, she wished she had left some earmuffs as well.

It was a struggle to keep her self raised off the rock long enough to stuff the extra pairs of pants under her, along with the pajama top. Her elbows were aching from the time spent braced against the cold rock face. But, it was well worth the strain on her arms and back, when she rested back down on her soft padded nest. Much better than a slab of granite. She had held back on using a pair of baggy sweat pants, since she thought she had better offer them to the demon lord beside her. His clothes were torn beyond recognition, and barely concealed his important parts. Surely, they provided no warmth in this condition.

She cleared her throat before she spoke quietly, "Lord Sesshomaru? I know you don't need any help from me, but I have an extra pair of pants that are soft and warm and I'm sure would fit you… except maybe for the length… you are really tall…." She stopped herself and shook her head. She was rambling. That blow to the head must have affected her more than she thought. Before he could deny the offer, she continued, "Anyways, I would be honored if you would wear these pants. I would also hate for you to be cold as it might affect your rate of healing and slow our exit from this cave." She gently placed the sweatpants within his reach with her burned left hand and again continued, "I know they are nowhere near the quality you deserve, but, since your garments are destroyed, they would preserve your dignity until suitable replacements can be found."

She felt little butterflies in her stomach as she wondered if he was going to accept the fluffy, fleece pants. Did demon lords even care if they were exposed to the cold, or to the stares of others? Her mind dredged up an image of an embarrassed, blushing Sesshomaru, naked, with his hands covering his "parts" and squealing fan girls crowded around him. Poor Sesshomaru. Mentally, she put the tall, striking lord into a nice, casual jogging suit. Then she visualized him in a baggy, comfortable sweat shirt and sweat pants. They were her sweat pants, of course. Hmmm, maybe she needed to stop playing dress-up with Sesshomaru in her head.

She shook her head and realized that the hit to her head really had done some damage to her brain. She was never this flighty with her thoughts. Did she lose some brain cells? How long do brain injuries take to heal? She forced herself to return to the situation before her. In truth, the sweat pants she offered were really good quality, for what they were. But, they were not silk, or fire-rat fur. They were her favorite sweats to put on over her other clothes when the temperature took a dip unexpectedly. They were also wonderful for a lazy, sloppy day at home, although, those didn't happen very often anymore.

To distract herself from her mind's wondering, she dug back into the backpack for anything useful. She pulled out a pack of Ramen, opened it with her good hand and teeth, and began gnawing on the block of uncooked noodles. She couldn't waste the water to cook them because she had no idea how long they would remain trapped, and water was the only thing she did not have much of. Opening her mouth revealed that her jaw was sore and likely bruised.

The noodles were tasteless and hard, but she knew it was all she had. She mentioned to the dead air around her, "If you would like some food, I have some dried noodles. They don't taste very good without being cooked, but they will keep us alive. I'll just put some here next to the sweat pants if you want to try them." She carefully dug in her bag for another package of Ramen. She again had to use her good hand and her teeth to open it and then placed the block of noodles on top of its wrapper, next to the sweat pants. She was careful to remove the silver seasoning packet because if he somehow bit into that, the taste would be overwhelming, not to mention the extreme salt content would make the lack of water more desperate.

She tried to glance over to see if Sesshomaru had responded in any way, or indicated that he needed anything, when she realized that the light in the cave had faded completely. She couldn't even make out the outline of where he sat. It felt eerie, knowing he was there, but not being able to even hear him. She felt so alone.

Sesshomaru's mind had wandered away from this little existence again until the girl spoke and offered him clothing and food. His slightly muddled mind remembered back to the time Rin had found him injured. His mind shifted back and forth between reality and memory. Innocent little Rin face peeking out from a tree, swallowing her fear and moving close to him. Rin had offered him water. Then he saw Kagome's innocent face from a memory of her approaching him to ask him to use his sword on that little badger's dismembered father. Now, in this dire situation, Kagome was offering him clothing and food. Rin had offered him food, and he had rudely rejected her offer. Still, after she had left, he had secretly eaten the little girl's offering of fish and mushrooms. He had only wanted the girl to stay away from him so she would not be in danger. Roaming demons might sense his presence in his weakness, and he would be unable to defend himself. Others did not need to be caught up in his battles. Also, his pride would not allow him to be beholden to anyone, human or demon.

Now this Kagome had placed her strange "dried noodles" on the rock between them. The odd food was close enough that he could have leaned over and devoured it, if he were so inclined. Which, of course, he was not. Still, he could not help smelling this strange food that she had opened out of some strange, crinkly sounding bag. Well, if nothing else, he knew being trapped in this cave with this priestess would not be boring. And it could be worse, he could be trapped with his irritating and smelly brother.

Elsewhere, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara were criss-crossing the area surrounding the clearing where they had last seen their friend. Since there were no scent trails to follow Inuyasha, Kirara and Shippo were sniffing furiously to detect any hint of Kagome's gentle scent. They had begun at the clearing where the fight had occurred and circled around while moving slightly farther away with each lap. They had spiraled around the area and moved about a mile away from their starting point before they lost daylight. Reluctantly, the shard hunters stopped for the night although they did not light a fire and conversation was absent. Everyone collapsed into a fitful sleep except for Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was the only one who had been in line to see what happened to the girl. One moment, the blast was heading towards Kagome and Rin, and then his brother reappeared behind her. Then the next there was an enormous flash of light and explosion. When his sensitive eyes readjusted, he could not see his friend. Kagome was gone and so was Sesshomaru. What he did see made his stomach drop. There was an enormous, smoking crater where his best friend should have been.

Sango and Miroku turned at hearing Inuyasha scream out their friend's name in distress. Suddenly, Hakudoshi broke off his attack with an evil laugh and disappeared into a swirl of miasma. Inuyasha jogged over to the crater and began sniffing furiously to find her scent. His mind could not accept that Kagome might be gone. She had to have made it away from the blast. Or maybe she had been caught up in Sesshomaru's barrier from Tenseiga and spirited away in his energy ball. Inuyasha had seen Sesshomaru saved by his energy ball in situations where he should have perished. But, Sesshomaru was harder to get rid of than fleas.

So, after telling Sango and Miroku what had happened, Inuyasha began sniffing around the clearing to find any scent to indicate where Kagome might have gone. It wasn't long before Shippo and Kirara joined in the hunt. Miroku had paused at the edge of the crater and said a little prayer that Kagome was safe. Then he joined his friends as they slowly moved away from the crater.


	3. Chapter 3 Dark of Night and First Aid

Disclaimer – nothing has changed. I still do not own any creative rights to Inuyasha or any characters from the show or manga. Not to say that in the future, when I'm a millionaire, that I might not buy such rights. But, at this point in time, I'm still just a penniless law student.

Chapter 3 – The Dark of Night and First Aid

Gently, she dropped her head back down on her arm and continued to nibble the hard noodles every now and then. Resting eased the aching pain in her neck from trying to remain upright. The darkness was oppressive and caused the little hairs on her neck to bristle. She couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not without blinking. Finally, she just gave up and closed them.

She couldn't risk using up her only source of light. She would not turn on the flashlight unless there were some emergency. Her Mom had taught her to think ahead like that. Since there was no way to know how long they would be trapped she couldn't risk running the batteries down. If she got too desperate in the dark, she might think about lighting the little Coleman cook burner. There was always the worry that it might consume all the available oxygen and they would suffocate. She would rather stay alive in the dark, then be dead with light.

With nothing visual to distract her mind, she noticed every ache and pain in her body ten times worse. The cold became more acute also. It crept up her legs like a vine trying to strangle her. The cold felt like it was chewing on her bones it was making them ache so much. Even though she was wearing enough clothes to survive a small blizzard, she was still freezing. Shivers broke out as she snuggled further into her mound of pants beneath her, and pulled the rain coat hood up over her head to trap any warmth she could generate with her breath. The problem was that she couldn't warm her legs. Any body heat she could generate below the waist was leeched out into the frigid, damp rocks that were locked around her legs. She imagined she could almost feel her warm blood traveling through her veins into her legs, cooling, then returning to her torso carrying the cold in her very bloodstream.

The night dragged on endlessly. It was worse than any sleepless night she had experienced. Normally, when she couldn't sleep, she would toss and turn trying to find a more comfortable position. This was not possible. She was locked into one position by the mountain pinning her legs.

Her mind became clouded with thoughts swirling around in the blackness. She was terribly cold. She hurt, and she didn't like being in the complete dark and silence. Her inner voice sounded like whining even to herself. 'It's so cold. It hurts. My legs are so cold and hurt. It's not fair. Why can't it be one or the other? I wish I could sleep. I'm not really tired though, but it would make daybreak come sooner. When will Inuyasha come find us? I hope he's alright. Did Rin get away? It's so dark.' She buried her head further under the rain coat which made a crinkling sound as she moved. 'If I stay under the hood, I can pretend that it's not really dark. I'm just hiding under here to keep the sun out. Yea. That works.' Self-denial in one's head was not a good sign of sanity, she knew. But it made her feel better to not think about the utter dark, and the situation she was in.

Mentally, she began an inventory of her body. She started at the crown of her head, and tried to catalog her injuries. Somewhere around the back of her head was a pain that made her eyes cross and her stomach heave. She assumed she had been struck in the head by a falling rock and probably had a concussion. Her face had survived fairly intact with only what felt like a few scratches and the bruised jaw. Luckily she had not landed on her face. An arm must have cushioned her landing. The back of her neck ached from the muscles that were not used to holding her head up at such a weird angle. She had remembered similar exercises she had performed one month when she won a membership to a health club. 'Funny to think that I paid for what I'm getting for free now.' At least her sense of humor had not been damaged although she was wondering if her brain cells had suffered some damage. .

She moved down to inventorying her arms. Her right arm was sore and her wrist felt swollen, but other than that, it was functional. Her left hand was a different matter. When the bow had disintegrated, her left hand was all that kept her from being torn apart by the combined deflected attack from Hakudoshi. Every time she even thought about moving her left hand a fiery pain scorched up her arm. She couldn't tell if there was any skin left on her hand, or if it was a black lump of coal. It had worked fairly well in moving the sweatpants and Ramen over to Sesshomaru's side, but that was before she had really been aware of everything that was happening.

Her torso was the next item of focus. Her ribs were tender, front and back, from the crushing effect of the boulder that Sesshomaru had somehow moved after she passed out from lack of oxygen. 'How did he move that rock if his arm is broken? Did he use that fluffy tail thingy?' Again, her mind wondered what that fluffy thing really was. He sure was proud of it if he carried it around everywhere.

Maybe it was another animal completely that he had control over? Like a fox stole her grandmother once owned. Like Shippo's father's pelt? Except, her grandmother's stole had a tail and head. Sesshomaru's fluff was just that; fluff. Maybe it was a scarf his Mom knitted and forced him to wear on threat of a spanking? Her twisted imagination pulled up a vision of a trendy Sesshomaru flipping the end of his fluffy scarf over his shoulder like a fashion designer. She could almost hear a nagging, motherly voice calling out, "Sessy-pooh, make sure you wear your scarf. Don't want to catch cold."

Again, she found herself reigning in her wandering mind and trying to refocus on what she had been doing. Inventorying her injuries. The muscles in her back, especially those running down her spine, were protesting from overuse during her getting dressed and creating a clothing nest under herself. As far as she could tell, though, she didn't seem to have any bleeding wounds on her torso. She was thankful for that.

But what about her legs? The pain was evenly spread out across her legs. She couldn't pinpoint any single place that hurt any more or less than any other. When she tried to flex her legs, bend her knees, or even wiggle her toes, she was met with breathtaking pain. She couldn't really even tell if her legs were still there. What if one or both legs had been cut off, and the pressure of the rocks was keeping her from bleeding to death? What if they were crushed to the point that she could never walk again? How could she finish their quest for the jewel shards? How could she climb out of the well? How could she even climb up the stairs at home to get to her room, or to get up to the shrine from the street?

Sweat beaded on her forehead as her heart began racing from the panic that these swirling thoughts created. Somehow, bad things always seemed worse in the dark of the night. Her discomfort, inability to sleep, and fear of the unknown finally overwhelmed her some time later, and she began crying. It wasn't a loud sobbing cry, but a quiet, whimpering as tears coursed down her cheeks to drop silently onto the pajama top she had rolled up to use as a pillow.

Sesshomaru had been drifting in and out of sleep or unconsciousness, he could not tell. Time became meaningless in the endless dark and pain. He worried about Rin. Where was she? Was she safe? Why couldn't he find her? 'If that useless Jakken lets her get captured again, I will fillet him and leave him for dead this time for sure.' He had been lenient enough over the centuries to wonder at his own sanity and motives. Sure the old toad had been useful from time to time. He did serve their dreaded Father in the past, but did that explain why the weary dog demon kept the annoying little prat around? The retainer did know some things that even he, Sesshomaru, found beneath him to learn. And, he supposed, he did have his uses. If it were not for his intermittent ability to keep up with the little human girl that followed after them, then Sesshomaru would have to watch her himself. That was unacceptable.

Although, he did not rouse fully, he heard Rin crying. Why wasn't Jakken comforting the girl? Or at least yelling at her to tease her out of her sadness? It was very rare that Rin was not a bundle of energy and smiles. She reminded Sesshomaru of an energetic puppy, not to unlike Inuyasha had been when Izayoi was still alive. Rin's side ponytail even resembled a floppy puppy ear. His stoic face shifted to a shadow of a grin as he imagined Rin as a flop-eared puppy with silky black hair. The girl did follow after him with the loyalty of a dog demon.

Kagome tried to stop her tears as she knew she would make herself sick if she kept it up. From somewhere to her left, a quiet, raspy voice commanded, "Calm yourself. I am here, Rin." Kagome turned her head in the direction of the voice and gasped. She had forgotten he was here with her. 'And he thinks I'm Rin, crying in the night.' Her whimpering stopped, and she found herself wishing she could move next to the imposing demon lord. She would curl up next to his leg. He might not appreciate her touch, but it would reassure her that she was not alone in this dark hell. She found herself idly wondering if that simple command was effective on Rin. It never occurred to Kagome that the spirited, lively girl that followed Sesshomaru would have need of comfort in the dark of the night. What did the little girl see in the demon? Did they have a friendship? Kagome had witnessed the lengths to which the demon would go to protect the child. Was she his pet? His surrogate daughter? His snack?

Kagome found herself thinking about the little girl and the demon lord instead of fretting over her physical pain and the dark, dreary "what ifs." Her mind remembered the scenes of Sesshomaru rescuing the small girl from Kohaku, from Naraku, and from Takemaru of Setsuna after Sounga had possessed the corpse. The child had complete, unwavering faith in the ability of her "Lord Sesshomaru" to save her from any foe. He might have told Sounga that he had no one to protect, but his actions spoke volumes more than his words did. The whole reason he was trapped down here in a hole with her was because he had placed his body in the line of fire to shield Rin's escape. She figured their relationship must fall somewhere between pet and master to friends or family. Of course, it was ironic that it was the human that was the pet. No matter what he said, the little girl must mean a lot to him. Kagome smiled in the dark as she felt her perception of Inuyasha' terrifying older brother shifted a bit.

Had Rin gotten away? The last Kagome had seen of her was when Sesshomaru tossed her to the waiting Jakken who was mounted on Ah-Un's back. She tried to remember how much time had passed between Sesshomaru's arrival and the destruction of her bow. Then there was the added time of when Sesshomaru had shielded her with his body before the ground collapsed. Was that enough time for Ah-Un to have taken off? She racked her sketchy memory for any hint of what had happened behind her. She couldn't remember any calling of "Lord Sesshomaru" or Jakken exclaiming anything. She couldn't seem to remember any noise that would indicate flight. It was strange. The pain of the combined reflected blast overwhelmed everything else in her memory of that moment. A thought came to her though. 'Why didn't Sesshomaru just snatch Rin up in his good arm and run away from the blast? Why had he shielded her (Kagome)? She was nothing to him. She was just a nuisance that had interfered with his sparring with Inuyasha. Course, Sesshomaru had done some unexplainable things in the past before. It was probably useless to try and guess his motives.'

Kagome could understand if it was Inuyasha. He would have thrown himself in front of her as he had done on numerous occasions. But, what was Sesshomaru thinking? She remembered how he had saved her from the poison master from the Band of Seven. The very thought of that vile creature lusting after her paralyzed body made her shudder and want to wretch. The end had seemed inevitable, Miroku and Sango were also poisoned after coming to her aid. Then, out of nowhere, her knight in fuzzy white armor appeared through the poison smoke and slew the bad guy. As far as she could tell, there was no ulterior motive. Sure, he had asked if they knew where Naraku was, but that seemed so out of place. He had never asked them for information or help before. Was it possible that he had helped because they had needed it and there was no one else that could? He was a poison master in his own birthright. Maybe, he had found some use for her and her friends. Though, Kagome was sure he would never actually admit to something like that.

She could totally understand why he would want his enemies to believe that he was heartless. No telling how many times his loved ones had been placed in danger as a means to control him. Just think about all the times Naraku had used someone as bait. Kikyo, Rin, Kohaku, herself. For all she knew, Sesshomaru might actually even like that smelly, mean Jakken, and only kicked, stomped and stepped on him to give the impression that he was expendable. Kagome had to chuckle at that thought. No, he probably really didn't like the green midget. She had stomped and pummeled that imp plenty of times to know he was tough, and annoying. But, it's impossible to deny the loyalty that Jakken demonstrated to the demon.

Thinking about the attachments of the great white dog demon sitting three feet away from her made her wish she could start up a conversation with him to chase away the cold and dread that nagged her constantly. But she knew how Inuyasha acted when he was injured, and she did not want to incur the wrath of this unpredictable demon in such a confined space. Besides, he needed his energy to recover more than she needed his conversation. But the simple distraction of thinking about him was enough to let her mind slowly release the strangle hold on consciousness so she could drift into an uncomfortable, dreamless sleep.

There was no way to tell how many times she woke during the long, torturous, cold night. All the things in her waking mind followed her into the sleep. The cold, the pain, the darkness. Wakefulness was so similar to sleep that she felt like she had been awake for about 36 hours in the dark. Strange, twisted half dreams taunted her in the horrible night. She dreamed, or hallucinated that she had become detached from her body and was floating about as just a consciousness. Pain still trailed after her like a wispy mist, but she could move away from it at times. Other times, she was terrified that Kikyo's soul collectors would happen across her and whisk her away to be devoured by the soul sucking undead zombie priestess. Her humor resurfaced as she thought, 'That would make a great title for a B-rated horror movie. Soul sucking undead zombie priestesses attack.'

Part of her half aware mind wondered if this was Hell. Then, she wondered if this was what it was like when Inuyasha was sealed to the tree. Did he dream? Was it just a 50 year void of nothingness? Was he totally unaware and simply went to sleep to immediately wake and 50 years has fled? Anger flared momentarily as she condemned Kikyo for sealing Inuyasha into such a fate. While Kikyo had gone on into death, and been reincarnated. Poor Inuyasha, if she had not freed him, would he have been stuck in that limbo for eternity. Never able to move on to a better place or be reincarnated. Were demons even able to be reincarnated?

Then came the nightmares. Always, she was being chased with evil breathing heavily down her back. The wind was blowing against her body, holding her in place, despite her efforts to run. She would lean forward, and grip the grass and roots to pull herself along to get away. Sometimes, she could hear the evil laughter behind her. Sometimes it was just breathing. Sometimes there was an eerie silence.

Once, she was being chased and ran into a clearing to see Inuyasha embracing Kikyo. She screamed for Inuyasha to come help her, but he didn't seem to hear her. Worse yet were the dreams where he did hear her, but just scoffed at her and turned back to sucking face with Kikyo.

Then came the nightmares about unfinished school work and failed exams. She was not allowed to graduate middle school and sit for her entrance exams. All her friends laughed at her as they moved away and entered the high school. She was left standing all alone in the school yard while the wind blew tumbleweeds past her. Her future was over, and her Mother was terribly disappointed. Even Sota would not look at her as he left her behind and excelled in the grades she would never attend.

The worst nightmares were a combination of the two. Naraku was in the future and all her friends and family were destroyed. The high school that she wanted to attend so badly was a charred and burned hulk. The beams of the walls and roof looked like the bleached bones of a giant dinosaur skeleton.

Each nightmare ended the same, she jerked up a bit and found herself back in the awful, dark cave, shivering from the cold and fear. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as loud as a base drum, drowning out any other possible sound. She would lie there and bury her face into her pillow and pray to not fall asleep again.

By the time sunlight began filtering down through the little hole in the roof of the cave, Kagome had almost convinced herself that she was trapped in some timeless, dark void. Her eyes felt hot, swollen and scratchy from lack of sleep, and she could only open them about 3/4ths of the way open. Every inch of her ached. Actually, it felt like the flu type of ache where she wanted to cry just to get up and stretch.

But, at least she could see again. Slowly, she shifted her head to her left, trying to go slowly enough that the crick in her neck didn't catch and pain her more. She needed to check on Sesshomaru. It had been hours since she had seen or heard anything from her "cellmate" and she was worried.

The first thing she noticed was that at some point in the night, he had slipped into the sweatpants. It was quite a shock to see his long legs splayed out before his reclining form clad in navy blue cotton. She hoped her smell on the pants didn't annoy him too much. Scent was so important to dogs. Her confused mind drifted off on a tangent again. 'Hmm, if smell is so important to dogs, and Inuyasha said I had a nice scent, what do I smell like? What do dogs like back at home? The smell of bacon? The smell of prey? The smell of other dogs' behinds? Gosh, I hope he wasn't telling me I smelled like a dog's privates.' She regained her awareness of the here and now when she noticed her eyes had glazed over as she daydreamed and she was staring blankly at Sesshomaru's feet.

She mentally shook herself again, an occurrence that was happening all too frequently since their entrapment. What was she doing before? Oh, that's right. She was checking on Sesshomaru. Maybe she could blame her weird mental wanderings on the pain. Surely she was not this unfocused normally. Was she? Maybe she was but her friends were just too kind to mention it.

Back to her companion. He had changed into the sweat pants. She also noticed that the block of uncooked Ramen noodles had a portion of the square missing. He must have tried a bit. It made her feel better to know that she could provide him a little bit of food even though it was not very tasty.

She assessed his injuries that were visible from her compromised vantage point. His face was still streaked with blood and his arm still hung at an awkward angle. Shouldn't he have healed some by now? She cleared her throat. The dust had settled in her throat and coated her vocal cords so her voice came out scratchy. "Lord Sesshomaru, how is it that your injuries are not healed yet? Are they of such a grave nature?" She waited for any type of response. There was nothing. Not even a flicker of an eyelash or a breath of a sigh.

Cautiously, Kagome reached her burned left hand out towards the form of the demon lord beside her. She really didn't want to touch him, but figured, with his hate for all things human, that maybe her touch would cause some type of reaction. At least, she would know he hadn't died during the night. Could a demon lord die so quietly that she would not have noticed his passing? A cold snake of dread twisted up from her stomach at the thought that he was no longer living.

As her hand neared his silk clad shoulder, the rambling part of her mind noticed that her hand was indeed not a charred stump. Although, the blistered and cracked skin across her knuckles and wrist would probably hurt enough that she would wish it had been reduced to a charred lump.

She gently touched the silk with two fingers and waited for a reaction. Still nothing. Feeling a bit bolder, she reached over to press two fingers into his throat where a pulse would be on a human. His skin was cool, but not the hard, cold that she had associated with death. Without thinking, her same hand lifted to gently stroke across one of the magenta stripes on his cheek. When she realized what she was doing, she garbled an apology and removed the hand to rest again on the shoulder.

As she glanced at his only arm, she realized she would have to do something to help. If his healing abilities were not working, his only arm could be damaged to a point of total uselessness. Which would mean the death of the proud demon lord. She had no particular love for the being that had tried repeatedly to hurt her and her friends, but he had saved her many times, and she had long ago released any grudge she bore against him. She couldn't just watch him die such a dishonorable death. It just wasn't right. Not to mention the sadness Rin would experience losing another parent figure.

Her mind went over the supplies she knew were in her bag, and came up with the idea of using a notebook as a splint and then bandaging the gashes with gauze. She didn't think she could reach far enough over with her right arm to create a sling, but maybe she could tie something up, and then place it over his head.

Then, her hand brushed the noodles. How had he eaten if his arm was useless? Had he forced the injured arm to reach up and grasp the noodles? Or for that matter, how had he gotten the sweatpants on? Is it possible to put on a pair of pants with no arms? Who knew? Sesshomaru was anything if not resourceful. Then there was that fluffy thing. Maybe he used it like an arm? That would be cool.

So, careful not to jar any unseen injury, she wrapped her blistered fingers around the silk that remained dangling from this shoulder to his claws and slowly pulled his arm up towards her face on the boulder. She could hear and feel the bones in his arm creak and shift against each other and it almost made her gag. Not knowing what else to do, she rest his arm on the rock surface and turned back to her bag. All this was complicated by her face down position on the boulder, but she managed.

In a moment, she had fished out her scissors, notebook and gauze. She had thought about leaving the silk around his arm and just splinting over it, but what if it hid a grievous, life-threatening wound? Or infection? It didn't matter. The beautiful shirt was already shredded to the point that it wouldn't even make a good rag. So, she propped herself up on her left elbow and awkwardly started sheering away at the silk.

His arm was covered with blood and gashes. She made a note to use some of her precious water to clean the wounds and decided the discarded silk would be good for that purpose. She worked slowly when she came to places where the blood had dried and the sleeve was stuck to his wounds. She would have used water to loosen the patches, but water was scarce. By the time she had removed the material, sweat had beaded on her forehead and upper lip. Also, the ache in her neck and upper back from the strained position had increased to a burning sensation and she had to stop a minute and rest her head on her arm. It would be bad to develop a cramp in her back muscles in her current position.

After her breathing and muscles had calmed down, she lifted herself back up on her elbow and reached for his arm with her good hand. She needed to feel along the bone to find any breaks. It was a good thing Sesshomaru was currently unconscious because she feared this part of the process would be painful. Even for a great demon lord.

Her mind partially detached from reality again for a moment as she wondered what her friends would say about her "feeling up" this demon's arm. It was a nice arm. Her eyes traced slowly over the well defined muscles visible under the ivory skin. Good looking arms always appealed to her. She had seen its twin during the battle with Sounga. Dainty magenta stripes leading to pointed claws that could rend and tear. Yet, somehow that same deadly hand could be gentle with the little Rin.

She indulged her curiosity by running a finger down his hand, along a tapered finger, and out to the end of a claw. She looked closely at his claws. They looked like regular human fingernails but thicker. They actually reminded her more of a cat's claws than a dog's toenails towards the end where they came to a razor sharp point. She also noticed a small hole on the underside of each claw about a quarter of an inch back from the tip. 'That must be where the poison comes out. Weird. I wonder how he makes it come out?'

She blinked a few times to pull back to reality. She screamed at herself in her head. She really had to stop doing that. It was getting scary how often her mind wandered off on its own without her realizing it. What if one time, it wandered off and forgot to return? Like her friend's beagle that started following the trail of a rabbit and got lost to never find its way back. Ok, now she was really freaked out at her own brain. Maybe she had finally gone insane? Or maybe this was some insidious kind of new attack from Naraku?

The analytical side of her brain registered that the bone in Sesshomaru's upper arm was fine. But that one of the bones in his lower arm was definitely broken, if the jagged feel of the break under his skin was to be trusted as an indicator. For all she knew, this was a normal bone formation for a dog demon. She wished he still had his other arm so she could compare. She didn't like the idea of how he would react if there was nothing wrong with his arm, and he woke to find it trussed up in a splint. A shudder ran through her body as she imagined his irritation.

She shifted back to her bag and pulled out one of the precious bottles of water that she had packed for the day trip. Using the scrap of silk, she washed the blood off his arm to get a better look at his wounds. There were a few major gashes and burns, but most of his skin was intact. After it was clean and dry, she gently placed a bandage over the worst injury, and wrapped them with gauze for pressure.

Then she decided to proceed with the splint as if the bone was indeed broken. She wrapped the notebook around the arm, just above his wrist, and secured it with a loop of gauze. Then, she worked her way up the arm, wrapping the gauze around and around until she reached the end of the splint. A sigh escaped her as she tied the final knot and took another break to relieve the tension building in her neck and shoulders. The thought of tying a sling around his neck left her feeling anxious and tired. He wouldn't use it anyways, even if it was to speed the healing of his arm by keeping it immobile. Inuyasha had never allowed her to create one for him. And since, Inuyasha was the only standard she had to judge Sesshomaru's actions against, she had to assume that Sesshomaru would be equally against using a sling. It was really silly to let your pride overrule your common sense. Though, she would say this to Inuyasha, she wouldn't even dream of mentioning it to his older brother. She did not want another intimate meeting with his poison claws.

As an afterthought, she took the still damp bit of silk that she had cleaned his arm with, and wiped a bit at his face. She didn't like seeing the blood and dirt on his handsome face. She couldn't do much, but she could do that little bit for his pride.

Now that she had done her good deed for the day, she turned to herself. She needed to see how badly her face was cut up, so she pulled out her little travel mirror, a wash cloth and the partial bottle of water. The wet washcloth stung as it traveled over the cuts on her cheeks and forehead, and snagged at the loose skin hanging from a jagged cut on her chin. She winced then looked in the little mirror that she had propped up on the strap of her bag. She had received worse injuries from simply trekking through the trees on their journey, so she was not too upset to see them. A few well placed adhesive bandages, and her face was as good as it would get.

She used the still damp washcloth and rubbed it down her neck to remove some of the grime from the fall and the exertion. Then, she rewetted it and carefully brushed debris off of her blistered left hand. The pain was instantaneous and excruciating. She emitted a muffled whine in her throat as she gritted her teeth and continued. Tears sprang to her eyes as she finished the cleaning. Once again diving into the bottomless bag, she found some burn spray that had fallen out of the first aid kit she used to carry. The cold spray temporarily numbed the skin enough for her to gently wrap layers of gauze around her hand.

With a twisting, gnawing feeling in her stomach, she turned her attention to her sprained wrist on her right hand. She didn't want to waste her gauze so she pulled out an old Ace™ bandage she had kept with her for such occasions. Using her left hand was like trying to button a coat with mittens on. She laughed at herself. She should have wrapped the right wrist first before entombing her left hand in whit cotton. Hindsight may be 20/20, but it was more annoying than anything. After a few failed attempts, and the help of her mouth, she managed to wrap her wrist and clipped the fasteners in place.

As her head again rested on her arm, she was shocked to realize how tired she was from such a small amount of exertion. Her mind drifted off to a peaceful setting where she could lounge in a deep, warm hot spring. She daydreamed of washing her hair and cleaning off the dirt and sweat from the last day and night. It was hard being a clean-loving modern woman in an era where hot baths were a luxury for the rich. With all the times she had walked through villages on hot, steamy days, she had sometimes wondered if people even washed in this era. 'Boy, I would be famous if I invented deodorant and indoor plumbing.' Kagome thought and giggled a bit into her arm.

The movement of her back from the giggles reminded her of the pain she was now trying her best to ignore. Her back was still on fire and cramping up from all the moving around at such an odd angle. She wondered if her head injury was serious enough that she should avoid pain medication. 'It's not like it could make me any more crazy. Course, it might not be a good idea to lose consciousness. Didn't Kaede say something once about not falling asleep with a concussion? But, I already did that. I slept some last night, I think. So, I should be okay to take something mild for the pain.' So, once again, she found herself digging into the backpack and rejoicing when her fingers wrapped around her little blessed bottle of Tylenol™. She used the last of the little bottle of water to wash down two tablets and waited patiently for the medicine to take effect.

While laying there with her head on her arm, she looked to the side a bit to see the empty bottle of water on the rock next to her. She realized she really shouldn't drink very much water. Not only did it have to last for an undetermined amount of time, but what would she do when she had to relieve her bladder? She was pinned by half a mountain. She couldn't exactly get up and find a toilet. It would be terribly embarrassing if she had to simply wet herself. Not that anyone would know, except for her and Sesshomaru. Hopefully, she could change clothes before they were rescued, and then none of her friends would know of this either. Surely, Sesshomaru would be too disgusted to relay the story to anyone. Not that he would even talk to the people in her life that really mattered.

But, the idea of him knowing was still terribly embarrassing. Enough so, that she decided it would be better to be slightly dehydrated than to have to wet herself. 'He would probably think he scared me so much I wet myself out of fear.' That idea made her giggle again. Luckily, by that time, she could feel that the medicine was taking the edge off the worst of the pain, and she didn't feel quite so awful. And with the lessening of pain, she found that her exhaustion had slipped up on her and she let her heavy eyelids close as her limbs became as lead. Her sleep was a little better this time since there was less pain, less darkness, and with the exertions that raised her body temperature there was less cold.


	4. Chapter 4 Daydreaming and Journaling

Chapter 4 Daydreaming and Journaling

She didn't dream this time as she slept. There was no way to tell how long she had been asleep when the sound of singing birds broke into her consciousness. With a deep sigh, she shifted and opened her eyes. It was bright enough even under her jacket hood that she could see the patterns of bears and stars on the pajamas that she was using as a pillow.

With her good hand, she pushed the hood off her head, and looked around the cave again. As before, the little hole in the ceiling allowed a shaft of light to illuminate the small opening. She decided to keep her head on the pillow as much as she could while she looked around. When she was done looking to the right, she lifted her head slightly, turned to face the left, and replaced her head on the pillow. She noticed that Sesshomaru still had his arm in the position it had been when she finished bandaging it. He either had not wanted to move it when he woke up, or he didn't wake up yet. She hoped for the former as she really hoped he was awake to talk. All this silence was getting to her.

In her world, there was almost never any time to sit still and be quiet. There were friends, boys, homework, projects, shrine maintenance, Mom, Grandpa, Souta and Buyo. Then, add on top of that the pressures from Inuyasha and the responsibility to gather and protect the Shikon shards, and the need to defeat Naraku to save Miroku, free Kohaku and just save the world in general. So many things she was obliged to do that she rarely had time to reflect. The most she could do was try and keep a journal of what they were doing, and what she thought about it. She could do the first part, but rarely had time to even acknowledge that she had thoughts. They were always running after the reactionary Inuyasha and trying to put out fires (figuratively speaking). Miroku was the most introspective of the group, and even he had to work hard to find times to meditate and strengthen his inner power.

After what seemed like an eternity staring at the profile of the slumbering demon lord, she was about to scream from the boredom. She had once heard that demons were fallen angels in some religions. 'If an angel can fall from grace and become a demon, can a demon be redeemed to angel status? And what would a demon have to do?' She imagined Sesshomaru skipping about doing good deeds, rescuing cats up in trees and helping little old ladies across the street.

Nah, really, she had seen him do some selfless deeds. Like reviving that little otter's Dad. Showing mercy to Kohaku when he had kidnapped Rin. Pushing Inuyasha out of the way of a strike from Sounga when they were battling. Not killing Inuyasha when he had transformed, and tossing her the sword to undo the transformation, instead of taking the sword he coveted so much.

'I wonder if Sesshomaru even knows he's doing good deeds? He'd behead me if I accused him of such. He would make one kick-ass angel, though!' Would he be someone's guardian angel? She giggled picturing a tiny Sesshomaru with black wings and a harp, floating over someone's shoulder whispering good deeds in their ears. Hehe. If humans got guardian angels, did demons get guardian angels? And were there guardian demons? She had about accepted the strangeness that kept spewing forth from her damaged brain.

Well, staring at her roommate had ceased being interesting so she gently turned her head over and looked at the scattered contents of her back pack. She had finally laid the pack on its side so she could look into the depths. Although there was not much light, she had it angled so what little reflected light there was illuminated the contents.

She reached her right hand into the bag, and carefully pulled out the prism colored notebook that served as her journal. A small notepad came with the larger book and with it, her pen with the cat charm on the handle. "Hmm. Maybe updating my journal will keep me busy for a while. Surely, Inuyasha and the gang will show up soon. I mean, how hard is it to sniff us out, especially since he likes my scent. Whatever that may be.'

She propped herself up with her bandaged left hand supporting her head so her weight was off her right arm, and opened the book to the last entry. It only took about thirty minutes to add in what had been happening since she wrote last. Things tended to be repetitive in their search. Sleep, pack, walk, fight, maybe find a shard, walk some more, eat, camp, sleep. Her entries tended to be about the unusual events like meeting Kikyo, getting poisoned/cursed/injured, being mauled by Koga…. 'Wait, those events are becoming normal too. Maybe I should only write code words for them. Like shorthand. I mean, writing "Kikyo" or "Koga" would be enough to relay what had occurred. I mean, Koga never drops by without grabbing my hands, declaring I'm his mate, and making Inuyasha crazy then dashing off again. Talk about ADHD! Inuyasha growls and snarls like a dog protecting a bone. I don't think Koga is really serious about wanting me as a mate. I mean, if he was, wouldn't he be reluctant to leave me with his rival? And if Koga truly thinks Inuyasha is just a puppy, then doesn't it show a lack of concern for my wellbeing to leave me with a puppy for a protector? I think Koga just really likes to poke at Inuyasha to make him mad. He knows his touchy-feely behavior will get a rise out of Inuyasha.'

Her left wrist started to hurt from being bent like that for so long, so she lifted up a bit and bent her wrist down so her bandaged hand rest on her shoulder. With nothing else to do, she slowly flipped through her journal looking at the doodles she had drawn on the various pages. She finally found herself back at the beginning. A smile crossed her face as she remembered when she had first sat down beside a campfire that Inuyasha had grudgingly built for her and tried to summarize what had happened.

It had been over a week since she had fallen down the well and found herself on her merry Feudal Era adventure. Her first entry was rambling and illegible in some places and the page was stiffened by a soaking of Ramen sauce. Inuyasha had loved Ramen the first time she served it, and she had to fight him off to keep him from stealing her portion also. In the scuffle, some of her soup had spilled on the open journal. A few good "sit"s later and she relaxed eating her Ramen in peace. Well, if you consider grumbling coming from the planted half-demon to be peace. Of course, she did make him seconds to apologize for the "sit"ting.

She read about the events from those months ago and started wondering things that had never really occurred to her. 'How come the well started working on her fifteenth birthday? Surely she had been in the well house, just as close to the well before that fateful day. If the bones of Mistress Centipede had rested in the old well for over 500 years, why did she come alive on that day? Why did the demon revive by just being within range of the jewel? Could it have something to do with the fact that Mistress Centipede had at one point had the jewel in her body? Did the jewel leave a trace of power behind that could detect the jewel or its shards?

Or, maybe the bones had not really rested there for 500 years. What if Mistress Centipede could travel the time slip as easily as she and Inuyasha could?' Kagome closed her eyes and rested her head on the bundle of pants that served as her pillow. She racked her brain as she tried to remember if she saw the telltale blue light that signified the well working before the demon grabbed her. She remembered the noise of scratching. She felt an energy that she had never felt before. She remembered the sound of wood splintering as the lid over the well exploded. But, there was no flash of blue in her memories. 'So, the demon probably just lay there for centuries waiting for the appearance of the jewel and I just happened to be the one carrying it. Lucky me. That is good to know that some random demon can't travel through the well. I'd hate to think what would happen if demons found their way into modern day Tokyo. It would make those Godzilla™ movies look like Barney™.'

Her neck had begun to ache from the awkward angle, so she kept her head down on her arm and thought about the day she was pulled into Feudal Japan. Seeing her favorite dog-eared boy pinned to a tree. 'What was it like for Inuyasha being sealed to a tree? Obviously he didn't dream or anything since he didn't know 50 years had passed. What would have happened to him if I hadn't come by? Would he have stayed stuck there forever?' A shudder ran through her body as she imagined eternity stuck in a dreamless limbo. Course, she thought she was trapped in such a limbo just the night before when she couldn't sleep and the night seemed to last forever. 'Did Kikyo known the fate that she was condemning him to? How could she do that to someone she supposedly loved?'

Kagome didn't want to judge anyone, but she could only use her own experience as a gauge to understand anyone's actions. She tried to imagine herself angry enough to kill someone she loved. There was just no way. She would rather die than hurt anyone she loved. Maybe Kikyo chose to seal him to the tree because she couldn't bring herself to kill him. Her purifying arrows might not have killed him, since he was half human. Wasn't that the whole reason Kikyo gave for wanting Naraku to have the completed Shikon Jewel? She wanted to turn Naraku into a true demon so she could purify him completely. But, if she knew Inuyasha wasn't dead, then why did she want to follow him into the afterlife like Naraku and Kaede said? That didn't make sense.

Maybe, and more likely, Kikyo chose to die because she was just tired of her life of guarding the jewel, and constantly being attacked by demons. It made more sense, that since she was betrayed by the one person she said she wanted to spend a normal life with, that she might think she had nothing left to live for. Kikyo had done her duty to defend the jewel and her village by sealing Inuyasha with her arrow, and then, essentially, allowed herself to die. From the accounts Kaede had given, Kikyo's life had never been peaceful, and maybe she sought peace in death?

But, then, why did her newly reanimated body want to kill Inuyasha and drag him to the afterlife. I mean, come on, Kikyo had already been reincarnated. If she did manage to drag her pitiful clay body to the afterworld, then the piece of soul she had stolen from Kagome would be released, and would return to Kagome. Poor Inuyasha would be all alone. Unless half demons were reincarnated too. Why couldn't that stupid clay body have kept some of the loving parts of her soul that would never hurt Inuyasha in a million years? Except, of course, for the occasional well deserved "sit."

Kagome could understand Kikyo having the jewel burned with her body. The thing was a curse. Nothing good ever seemed to come of its use. Kikyo's life was a nightmare that she didn't want. That stupid dark priestess Tsubaki was jealous, and wanted to be the protector of the jewel. If she truly knew what was involved, maybe Tsubaki would not have turned out so evil. The life of fighting wore the priestess out, mentally, physically and spiritually.

Something Naraku had once said stuck out in her mind as curious. He said when he was the invalid Onigumo, that Kikyo's powers had become weaker and weaker. He attributed it to love, but that didn't seem right. Love only made people stronger, from what she had experienced. Then something else sparked in her memory. On the battlefield, when they first encountered Kanna, Kagome had fired an arrow at that horrible mirror that held hers and the villagers' souls. As the arrow penetrated the mirror's surface, Kanna had mentioned that her arrow was made of souls. Is it possible that Kikyo had used up her soul to fire all the purifying arrows necessary to guard the jewel? 'Would that be my own fate if this shard hunt goes on for a long time?' Kagome could only imagine how horrible it would be if she herself had to fight off all the demons that came after the jewel without the aid of Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku. But it had been a duty handed down to Kikyo to handle alone.

Tsubaki had coveted the position of protector of the jewel. But, then, Tsubaki would have used the jewel for selfish purposes. Would demons have still attacked the dark priestess the way that they had attacked Kikyo and Kagome? Naraku sure didn't seem to be under siege by anyone other than her group, Sesshomaru and Koga. Maybe it was only the pure jewel that attracted demons? They could feel its power, and purity, and had a desire to corrupt it. It was funny how demons ended up with the jewel shards since Kagome and Kikyo were the only ones alive that could actually see the aura of the jewel shards. Demons must be able to smell the power or something like that. Maybe it was like she thought before. That once you have a jewel shard, it leaves some type of residual power behind that can detect other shards. That was one of the only ways she would explain Mistress Centipede knowing the jewel hid in her body.

She shook her head a bit coming to no certain conclusions. 'This meditation stuff if for the birds! All I've done is gone around in circles. One moment I feel bad for the old Kikyo, the next, I'm mad as hell at the new undead Kikyo. All I know for sure is I've somehow got to keep her from dragging Inuyasha to an early grave. I don't care what he promised to whom! His life had been horrible up until now. And now that it's getting better, he deserves to live and enjoy it! When was the last time Inuyasha was actually happy and relaxed?' Her emotions were in a jumbled mess, and it was giving her another headache. Course, she couldn't really tell what was a headache, and what was just her head aching from having rocks bounced off her skull. She made a conscious effort to change her line of thoughts, and turned to look at Sesshomaru. She was going to talk to him to stop these unproductive imaginings.

Lifting her head and turning to face her left, she placed her head back down on the bundle of pajama pants. What else could she do for Sesshomaru? She could only guess what a demon needed to recuperate. Inuyasha didn't need much more than time, so how was this full demon different? Surely, Sesshomaru should heal in half the time that Inuyasha did.

"Lord Sesshomaru, are you awake?" she timidly asked as she surveyed the figure beside her. "What is wrong? Shouldn't you have healed some by now?" She watched for any movement to indicate awareness. His right arm was still stretched on top of her boulder. His eyes were still closed and his head was still cradled by all that white fluff.

She acknowledged that she was quickly becoming obsessed with that white fluffy thing. The not knowing was killing her. What was it?! Maybe it was a security blanket? Like that comic strip character that she saw that carried a blanket around with him all the time and sucked on his thumb. She had seen Sesshomaru stroking the fur a few times while he was thinking. Her twisted mind superimposed the comic strip character over the demon lord and she was visualizing him in his pristine whiteness with his fluff in his right hand, cuddling it against his face with his eyes closed in a content expression while sucking on his thumb.

She became aware of what she was doing when her eyes cleared from her daydream to find her bandaged left hand brushing casually across the fur that was within reach. She could feel the silky fur on the spaces of skin that were exposed between the strips of gauze around her hand. She also became aware of the angry frown marring the brow of the face that had turned slightly to face her.

'Oh! Oh! I'm in sooooo much trouble! The first sign of awareness and it's because I'm touching his fur!' She snatched her hand back like it had been burned again. She began babbling apologies again in a subdued voice. After a few minutes of fearing for her appendages, she realized he was not going to dismember her for her disrespect of his person and relaxed a bit.

Sesshomaru was still drifting in and out of consciousness. The rational side of his mind began nagging at him about something. As far as he could tell, it had been a complete day and his wounds were not healing. They still pained him as greatly as they had after the fight. He knew, from past experience, his demonic abilities should have healed some of his wounds. The largest wounds had priority, and should be approximately half way healed by this point in time. When he had been previously struck by Tetsusaiga, it had taken him roughly three days to become mobile.

In one of his more lucid moments, Sesshomaru tried to analyze what was different about this time as opposed to his last encounter with Tetsusaiga. He had been around Rin a bit before, and this time, he was near this Kagome. But, her presence this time was constant, not intermittent like Rin's had been. Was it something to do with this woman?

Although he could not muster the desire to physically turn towards her, he turned his senses towards the woman beside him. It wasn't her smell that was the problem. She smelled quite good for a human _or_ a demon. Most humans seemed to enjoy stewing in their own odors and were afraid of water. Considering all the water related demons that existed, that fear was not all together irrational. But surely, they could gather water in a bucket or something and at least rinse themselves. This Kagome was not covered in the scents of sexual activities or multiple males as her skimpy clothing would suggest. For that matter, she barely held the scent of his brother and the other members of their pack. Truly, she smelled strongest of the little kitsune that he had seen her coddling on numerous occasions.

So, if her smell was not an issue, what about her appearance? Since he could scarcely open his eyes or turn his head, he didn't think that could possibly be a problem. From what he could remember, she was fair looking. Nothing spectacular like Kagura, and nothing too homely like most humans. She had large, doe like eyes that projected a strange innocence and wonder about the world, and mirrored every emotion. All in all, there was nothing distracting or dangerous about her appearance.

His other senses didn't seem to play an important role in determining if anything was different about this woman. He didn't touch her, taste her or hear her. She was actually mostly silent to the point that he forgot she was present. Then he thought about checking her aura. Carefully, he tuned in to sense her aura, and warning growls went up in his mind. Her priestess powers were still brushing against him like the sheets of rain in a summer storm.

This would explain the difficulties he was experiencing in the healing department. She was purifying all the new tissue his body was trying to generate at the injury sights. He could withstand a great deal of purification, but he was not totally immune to it. This was proven to him as he fought the Band of Seven within the Holy Barrier of Mount Hakurei. It had not destroyed him, but the holy powers of the barrier had slowed him considerably and made him feel awful. It seemed that his current wounds were more susceptible to purification than the rest of his body. He needed to do something about this stalemate before his body grew weary of constantly re-healing the same injuries.

As he was thinking about this new problem, he thought he felt something tingle on the fur next to his shoulder. What was that? It rather tickled, and he didn't like things that tickled. A frown crossed his face and he tried to turn his head to look at whatever was causing this unsettling feeling.

Kagome quietly called out, "Lord Sesshomaru? Can you hear me?" and waited. He had been pretty much out of it for about 24 hours, if she could judge by the angle of the shaft of light streaming in. Inuyasha was never unconscious for that long. A nagging doubt was growing in her that something was terribly wrong.

She watched closely as the uncharacteristic frown deepened on his ivory forehead. It contorted the shape of his deep blue crescent moon on his brow. She held her breath as his face turned ever so slightly towards her direction. "Lord Sesshomaru? How can I serve you?" She asked, wanting to ask if she could help, but she realized he would not accept help from a lowly human. "Do you need any food or water? Do any of your injuries require bandaging?" She assumed there were gashes on his back from taking the full force of the combined reflected blast.

She had been in the quiet long enough that she just kept talking. "I've noticed that you are not healing at a normal rate. Do you know what is wrong? I might have some medicine that would help in a speedy recovery." She started mentally inventorying the medicines that she carted around in her bag for her friends, trying to think if anything would help him. There were few of her supplies that she knew were safe for Shippo so she could assume they would work on another full demon of a similar species. Fox, dog, close enough.

She was more than shocked for Sesshomaru to open his mouth and respond to her inquiries. "Priestess. Your holy powers are hampering this Sesshomaru's healing abilities. You need to control them or I will have to control them for you." His voice was raspy, but the threat was clear enough to send a shiver of fear down her spine.

She stuttered in defense, "I'm not doing anything." She tried to think if anything Kaede or Sango had taught her could account for what Sesshomaru was accusing her of. She couldn't do many things, and of those that she could accomplish, none had to do with healing, or suppressing healing. "I don't understand." She pleaded.

His golden eyes opened just a crack as his face smoothed out to reflect only boredom. "Priestess, your powers need to be controlled. You need to restrain them. When you are awake, the effect is lessened on this Sesshomaru. When you are asleep, your powers are no longer dormant. This Sesshomaru believes that your holy powers are attempting to heal your injuries, and by being in close proximity to a demon, they are protecting you."

Her mouth dropped open in shock as she tried to understand. "You mean, when I'm asleep, my powers are hurting you just because you are close by? But, I've never been able to do anything like that before. I'm not even sure how one restrains holy power. All I've been able to do is shoot purifying arrows, deflect a curse, and create weak barriers. Do you think a barrier would restrain my powers from depressing your healing abilities?"

A long pause ensued that made Kagome sweat as she kept thinking about what Sesshomaru would do to "control her powers himself." Would he have to kill her? She really didn't want to die. There were still so many things she wanted to do. As her mind raced around in a panic trying to come up with a solution, she didn't notice the golden eyes that were inspecting her. He also noticed his arm resting on the rock with some strange material wrapped around it.

His deep voice startled her out of her panic, "Human, what have you done to this Sesshomaru's arm?" She let out a squeak as her mind ground to a halt and tried to comprehend what he was talking about. Then she raised her head slightly and remembered. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought your arm was broken, and I thought it would need to be splinted so the bones would heal properly. The notebook was all I could think of to act as a splint to keep you from moving your arm and further injuring it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to touch your person." She sputtered to a stop as she noticed the golden eyes move to look from his arm to her face. It was unnerving to receive the full attention of this imposing creature, even when he was so badly injured and mostly immobile.

He simply nodded his head and turned away from her in what she assumed to be acceptance of her explanation. His voice was a bit stronger than it had been when he continued their conversation from earlier. "A barrier would not lessen the effect of your powers unless you could project a barrier farther away from your person until you were drained. Considering the vast nature of your holy powers, that would take considerable time that we do not have to spare. It would be wiser to use your talents to repress your powers while you are awake."

She nodded her head, trying to follow his logic only to whine, "But I don't know how to repress my powers. They are just there. Would it help if you moved away from me?" She looked around the little opening they inhabited and realized there was not really anywhere farther away for him to go. His response was a snort that conveyed his disdain for her suggestion.

She closed her eyes as the magnitude of the problem solidified in her mind. "So, you can't heal because my powers keep unconsciously attacking you. If you can't heal, then you can't dig us out. So, we are stuck here waiting for someone to find us." She began whining in her mind. 'Oh this is just great. Me and my stupid untrained powers. What Kami decided to drop me in the middle of all this mess without equipping me to handle it. Somehow I have to stay awake long enough for Sesshomaru to heal so he could maybe dig me out. Or at least, he could escape and send someone else to get me.'


	5. Chapter 5 Thinking

Chapter 5

Sesshomaru's mind had wandered off to ponder other matters after he had enlightened the girl as to what her powers were doing to him. He had to admit, that he felt worse than he had ever felt while injured. Not even having Inuyasha sever his arm, or being hit full force with the Wind Scar had hurt this much. This was a prolonged pain that did not diminish as it should have. His back ached from the damage of the blast, and he could not move to alleviate the pressure on his wounds from leaning against the rock.

To distract himself, he replayed over in his head every encounter he had with Inuyasha, and analyzed how his half-brother had improved with their sparring. He compared it with the training he himself had received at about the same age from their father. Future encounters would have to be planned to further teach swordsmanship techniques.

Truthfully, the boy had learned very quickly and improved past what he had expected considering he was mostly self-taught. He was faster and fought better when he was defending his friends, and most importantly, this girl, Kagome. Inuyasha's instincts to protect his pack mates and friends were developing along schedule. With the rare exception when too many distractions occupied his attention, Inuyasha was shaping up to be a fair leader.

Still, he wished there was some lesson he could invent to teach the whelp to stop yelling. It was so annoying to have his brother snarl at him every time they came into contact. Even though the last several times they had made contact, no fighting had occurred, Inuyasha still took offense at his very presence. Silly, hot-head. But, Sesshomaru acknowledged that he himself had been rash and reckless several centuries ago at the same age as his brother. Had he not even challenged their father on several occasions only to receive a sound thrashing at the Dog General's claws? It must be a coming of age rite of passage for dog demons.

Kagome had gone back to flipping through her journal as she chewed on her pen. She wasn't really reading the pages, only looking at them while her mind wandered. She didn't know for how long, but it apparently was long enough that her shoulders were beginning to protest. In resignation, she slid her arm out from under her head and flopped down onto her nest of clothes. It was becoming a pattern. Read until her muscles protested; rest and think until she started getting sleepy; prop herself up again and read some more. While she rested she wondered about Sesshomaru. He had been quiet as the grave for a long time. She turned slightly to look at him to see if he was any better. He had finally removed his arm from the boulder by her head. A slight grin tweaked the corners of her mouth as she again marveled at the mighty demon wearing sweatpants. Who would have ever imagined?

Carefully, Kagome shrugged out of the raincoat since she was no longer as cold as before. She offered the overly large jacket to Sesshomaru. "Lord Sesshomaru? Are you feeling any better? I know it's rather chilly in here when you aren't moving. Would you care to use this as cover? I doubt your torn shirt could be very comfortable. It may smell a bit strange, but it will keep out the cold and some of the falling dirt." Then she waited for a response. Upon receiving not even a twitch of acknowledgment that she had spoken, Kagome simply stretched her left arm out and draped the jacket over his splinted arm and side. It was as far as she could reach.

She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw him sniff a bit. She could only imagine how odd the plastic would smell to his nose. She remembered the awful smell of plastic when she first bought the coat. Inuyasha had almost buried the jacket before she could explain that it wasn't some new poison or something dead.

She finally decided to try to strike up a conversation again. "Lord Sesshomaru, I hope my priestess powers are not affecting you right now. I really don't mean to be doing any of this. I'd stop it if I knew how." Her mind sputtered trying to think of something else to say to fill the empty silence that surrounded them. "Um, do you think that later; when I start getting sleepy, that you might talk to me to help me stay awake? Normally, I would walk around to stay awake, but that's a little out of the question right now." She had hoped he would at least open his eyes and glare at her, but he did not. Was he unconscious again? Was he hibernating?

She just kept staring at him and blurted out, "How did you move the rock that was on my back when your arm is broken?" His eyes finally cracked open and she could see him looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He did not answer, but she did see the end of his fluff move slowly from his left side to cross over his body and flick the air over her back. She grinned like an idiot as she watched the object of her obsessive pondering move independent of the great demon. 'The fluff does move like an arm!' and didn't realize that she exclaimed out loud, "How cool!"

Oh she wanted to ask about what his fluff was. It was killing her not to know, but she really didn't want to anger someone who could spew poison with just a thought. It wouldn't hurt him, but it would get rid of his little healing inhibitor if she met an untimely demise. She was going to make sure she was indispensable until they were out of this mess. And the first step to that was not getting killed. She never again wanted to experience first hand the feeling of his poison cloud.

Her eyes wandered over to the block of Ramen noodles she had laid out for him the night before and realized another small part of the block was missing. She asked, "Lord Sesshomaru? I have a bit of water in containers in my bag. I humbly offer this to you in thanks for shielding me during the attack." Again, she tried to offer the needed item without him having to swallow his pride and accept help from her.

She didn't wait for a response she simply dug out a bottle of water, twisted off the cap and placed it beside the block of Ramen. He seemed to be a sneaky demon, only taking bites of food when she wasn't looking. It was like a game to her at that point. She would have to purposely not look more, so he had more opportunity to eat. He would probably never forgive her is she caught him gnawing on the noodles. So, to facilitate his eating and drinking, she turned her head to the other side again, and started picking at the pages of her journal like she was reading.

Truthfully, he was getting quite annoyed with the situation. There was no way he would willingly obligate himself to a human, even this one who was so different. He was aware of many things regarding this young woman who accompanied his brother. He had witnessed many interactions between her and the other members of their group, not to mention the interactions with the dead priestess that sealed Inuyasha so many years ago. This young one was constantly being tested and thrown into situations she was unprepared for, and somehow coming out the victor every time. So, how was it now that he was trapped in here with her, and feeling quite unexpectedly useless. Possibly he could teach her how to control her abilities so he could heal properly.

Until she could either free herself and move away from him, or someone else came to dig her out, he was at a disadvantage. He could not even use his demon cloud to levitate out of the cave due to his diminished condition. Also, his demon orb would not remove him since there was no access to the outside. Their only light source was a hole in the roof of the cave so small that a mouse could barely fit through. He was definitely larger than a mouse, even in his demon orb state.

His eyes wandered back in the direction of the girl who had turned away to look at her bound scroll. The strange clear bottle of water grabbed his attention. Such strange and wondrous items that this girl possessed. Where did it come from?

He was quite the traveled demon, and had never seen such sights. The dry food was barely passable as food, but it was something to keep their energy levels up. The strange shiny fabric of the cloth she had draped over his shoulder was equally odd, and smelled terrible. Yet, he could not deny the warmth he felt on that side by the body heat that was trapped by the clothing. He remembered his surprise at the softness of the strange stretchy pants he had accepted and placed over his indecently exposed legs. Pride can only carry a person so far when the cold begins to creep into their bones and sap what little power they retained. He was proud, but he was not foolish enough to risk his health for pride.

He had been surprised by Kagome's reaction to his answer to her question about moving the boulder that had pinned her back. She looked like Rin when he would accept one of her flowers that she picked only for "her Lord Sesshomaru." Again, he wondered how Rin was fairing. Had Jakken removed her from the battle ground? He trusted Ah-Un to do what he commanded, but the little green imp rarely followed orders with precision.

Eyeing the girl to ensure she was not watching, Sesshomaru worked the edge of his Mokomoko-sama (fluff) over his body and used it to gently grasp the bottle and lifted it to his dry lips. The water was exceptionally clear and held only a slight taste and smell of the strange bottle. He had assumed the bottle was some type of glass or pottery, but it smelled of the same material as the shiny fabric and buckled when he applied a bit too much pressure. He quickly returned the container to its position next to the tasteless noodle block and continued with his rambling thoughts.

In another period of resting her weary muscles, Kagome was lying face down on her clothes. What she wouldn't give for her wonderful, mattress back at home. She half wondered if Sesshomaru had ever slept on a mattress. She could picture his dog self circling around on her bed three times before flopping down in a flutter of fluffy white fur. But, then, this vision went a step farther than most of her others, as she imagined herself included in this one. She gingerly climbed up onto the bed so as not to disturb him, and curled her body on her side to surround the sleeping Sesshomaru-dog. She then reached out an arm and snuggled the doggy bundle to her chest and fell asleep with her nose in his fur.

'Whoa! Where did that come from??!?!' She wondered with a blush and shake of her head. This was the demon who could kill her with a glance! And who had tried on numerous occasions to melt her to a pile of plasma! 'Ok, so maybe he's not that bad, but I've got to stop thinking about him like that. Inuyasha would kill me if he knew. Or worse, he might try to "mark his territory." I'd have to purify him if Inuyasha ever tried to pee on me to mark his possessions!' Another dog image entered her mind as a puppy Inuyasha hiked his leg and marked the God tree, then walked a few steps away, and kicked grass at it. She stopped her thoughts and put a hand to her forehead. Nope, no fever. She was just certifiably insane and the worst part was she knew it. What did that old cartoon Sota used to watch say, "And knowing is half the battle." But she had to wonder, what the other half was supposed to be.

Her eyes were beginning to flutter so she propped herself up on her right arm to look at Sesshomaru. It was obvious to her that she needed to talk to stay awake in this oppressive silence. "Do you need any additional cover? That jacket does not cover much, and it is quite uncomfortable in this cave. I have a flannel shirt that might cover more of your upper body. It's not as soft as the sweat pants you are wearing, but it is good for keeping out the chill."

His voice sounded disgruntled as he responded, "I am fine. I do not feel the cold as you humans do." Her mouth set in anger as she took offense at his response. So much like Inuyasha. Did demons have hotter blood running through their bodies? She never could understand how Inuyasha could run around in all types of weather in just his one fire-rat outfit and barefoot to boot! At least Sesshomaru had enough sense to wear shoes. Course, he only seemed to have one change of clothes too. What was it about demons that they didn't like variety in their outfits?

She felt sleep creeping up on her again and blurted out, "I hate to keep annoying you, Lord Sesshomaru, but I really need to talk to stay awake. I really want to make sure you can heal as much as you can before I accidentally fall asleep. I don't want my powers to do anymore harm. So, please forgive me in advance for asking stupid questions. I've been thinking about some things, and need to think out loud sometimes to come to conclusions."

She heard him grunt from the other side of the room, and took that as acceptance of her bizarre request. She blurted out the first thing on her mind. "What is that fluffy thing on your shoulder? I thought at one point is was your tail, assuming you have a tail. I mean, Koga and Shippo have tails and they're full demons. But then, you can move it like an arm, which makes me think it's not a tail. And when you transformed into your true form in your father's tomb that first time I met you, that extra fluff remained wrapped around your shoulders and you had a tail where your tail should be. So, it's been driving me insane wondering what that was. Could you please tell me if it's not too personal?"

She held her breath waiting for his answer like it would explain all the world's mysteries. She truly hoped she had not insulted him but she could not resist asking. She could hear the grin in his voice as he responded. "You humans are so peculiar. Of all the things you could question this Sesshomaru about, you ask about my Mokomoko-sama. You are correct, it is not a tail. Only lesser beings have tails because they can not completely transform from their true forms. Yet it is a part of me as your arms and legs are a part of you. Being a Great Silver Dog demon, the power inherent in our true form must be stored somewhere in our smaller humanoid form. Its shape can be anything of our choosing. Should this Sesshomaru decide to transform my Mokomoko-sama into a tail, it shall become as such. My father wore his Mokomoko-sama as a split-tailed cape. Yet have I seen other demons with similar abilities form their power into staffs, crystals and weaponry. "

She lie there staring up at the demon beside her and pondered this new information. 'Attached, but not a tail. And it had its own name, and he called it "sama" out of respect.' A blindingly brilliant smile split her face as her most burning question had been answered.

A bit distracted by this information, she was thinking about the time she saw the ghost of Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's father after the battle with Sounga. She remembered the split tailed cape. It wasn't just a fashion accessory. She giggled at that thought and asked another question without thinking about the consequences.

"Speaking of your father. Lord Sesshomaru, I've wondered something for a long time. I know everyone says your father was a great and terrible demon. When Inuyasha was having trouble with his sword after it was reformed, Totosai sent Inuyasha in search of Ryukotsusei. We were told the story of how your great father could only seal the dragon by piercing it with a fang. If your father could only seal Ryukotsusei and he had all three swords, and Inuyasha destroyed Ryukotsusei with only one sword, does that make Inuyasha more powerful than your father?"

A fierce growling began quietly and built to a deafening roar in the tiny cave. Kagome's eyes flew over to search Sesshomaru's figure, half terrified that he would turn to her with raging red demon eyes. He roared, "How dare you, human!" He spat out the word human like it were a curse. "How dare you imply that that wretched half-breed is mightier than our great Father. It was only Father's concern for protecting the life of that useless whelp that distracted him from annihilating that pathetic Ryukotsusei! Inuyasha will never be half the demon that our great Father was!"

Kagome cowered in terror as she tried to move away from the snarling demon. Her mind blanked on how she could have been so stupid to insult her only way out of this hell hole. She whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply any such thing. I think my concussion has knocked some of my inhibitions loose and I spoke before I thought. Please forgive me. I will try to think before I speak again."

The tense silence stretched on for hours it seemed. In truth, Kagome had no way of knowing how long it had been. She was too tense to even chance looking at her watch. But slowly, her muscles began to loosen simply because she was too bone weary to maintain such a posture. Her heart slowed back to its normal resting rhythm and the adrenaline slowly wore off to leave her even more exhausted than she was before she engaged in conversation with Sesshomaru.

Too nervous to resume speaking, she needed something to keep her awake. She again turned to her trusty prism covered journal. She remained resting on her arm, and flipped open to her first days of life in Feudal Japan. She knew she would have to turn on the flash light soon as the cave was darkening into another night. She could not stay awake in the complete darkness. Her mind spit out a line from a movie as she thought about the dark. "Don't give in to the dark side…." Ugh. She really needed to get her head examined when she went back home.

She reread about freeing Inuyasha and him destroying Mistress Centipede. Then the part about his attacks against her and Kaede placing the subjugation rosary on him. A giggle tried to escape when she remembered his face but she held it in considering she didn't want to bring Sesshomaru's attention back to herself.

Then there was that terrible incident with the carrion crow that had coveted the jewel, and bored into the leader of those bandits and taken over control of his body. She had been captured. Nothing new there. This was just the first in a long line of captures and kidnappings. Maybe she should start keeping track of the number of abductions? Nah.

Something bothered her about this particular memory. She knew it was right before the jewel had been shattered. But there was something tickling at the back of her mind about the events right before the crow took off with the jewel in its beak.

She let her head fall back onto her pillow as her mind submerged into the memory of that time. She remembered the leader demanding the jewel. She remembered the bandits holding her arms while the huge man lumbered towards them with his sword drawn. Then she remembered the leader missing her and striking down one of his own men. From there, it was every man for his self as all the bandits scrambled like cockroaches to get away from their demented leader. All of them were huddled in a corner, behind her, as the leader again demanded the jewel. As realization hit her in regards to the memory that nagged at her, she gasped and blurted out loud. "Oh, God! I wished that I didn't have the jewel just moments before it was shattered!"

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Darkness had once again crept up on the shard hunters turned Kagome hunters. Inuyasha had grumbled and fussed as Kirara finally collapsed from the exertion of carrying Sango, Miroku and Shippo while trying to keep up with the frantic pace of the half demon. Still, they carried on a few more miles with Sango carrying the exhausted cat while Miroku carried Shippo.

Months of non-stop shard hunting had built their stamina, but two days of almost constant jogging had taken a toll on all of them. Even Inuyasha was wearing down and needed a break. Although, he would never admit to that while Kagome was missing. For that matter, he would never admit to needing a rest, even if she was safe and sound back in their care.

Inuyasha sat with his back to a tree, watching the hearty fire that Miroku and Shippo had built. It was too quiet without Kagome here to fuss and laugh. He didn't even want to eat his Ramen if she wasn't there to stop him from stealing Shippo's. His stomach was churning with worry and growing dread. Where could she be? Was she hurt? Was she with Sesshomaru? Was Sesshomaru taking care of her, or had he left her behind? It killed him to have to sit still when she could be hurt and alone.

All day his mind had been plaguing him with different scenarios as to what might have happened. The only one he would not even consider was that she had died at the scene of the battle. He knew she was too stubborn to die that easily. He could smell her blood at the crater, but not enough to lead him to believe the worst. The only thing that made sense was that she somehow was caught up in Sesshomaru's barrier from Tenseiga and swept away to wherever Sesshomaru went to recover.

Inuyasha had decided to continue searching in this pattern until they found some hint of Kagome, Sesshomaru or Jakken. It was a stretch to think that the little green toad would know where to find them, but they would take whatever chance they could. Surely, Sesshomaru would return to his pack and Rin as soon as possible. They had seen the great demon protect the little girl on too many occasions to think he would leave her vulnerable. Heck, all this mess was because of protecting that little girl. Not that Inuyasha had anything against her, but part of him blamed Sesshomaru for the fact that Kagome had to protect the girl in his stead. Of course, deep down in his heart, he knew that Kagome was just the type of person who would protect a child, any child. It was a wonder that she didn't feel the need to protect Kanna, Naraku's void child.

Inuyasha leaned his head back against the trunk behind him and stared up at the moon glowing in the sky. Was she looking up at the same moon? As weariness closed his eyes, he said a little plea in his head, 'Kagome, please be safe.'

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At that moment, in a clearing a few miles west of the battleground, Jakken worried over the little camp. In the past, when Sesshomaru had been injured, it was not difficult to track him. It never took more than three days to either find him, or have Sesshomaru rejoin their group after healing. A demon of such extraordinary power could heal from grievous wounds in less than three days.

As Jakken paced back and forth before Ah-Un, his whiney little toad voice mumbled constantly. Rin had tucked herself in next to the two headed dragon and fallen asleep hours ago. The child had such complete faith in Lord Sesshomaru that nothing bothered her. Plus, she was used to the imp's whining so she tuned it out. The dragon was not so lucky. Both heads were getting tired of the annoying toad, and the next time he paced by, one of the heads reached out and nipped the whiner on the rump. Jakken squeaked in fury and threatened destruction with the staff of two heads. To this, the dragon simply closed its eyes and pretended to sleep.

Jakken finally parked himself on the other side of the fire and decided that in the morning they were going to venture back towards the battle field. Any movement was better than none. Besides, it would give that annoying human brat something to do other than torture him with flowers and games.

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AN- about the wish. It's in the anime, but not the manga. Trust me, I went back and double checked both. I'm going with the anime simply because it suits my plot needs. Besides, it's interesting to think about the consequences of her wishing she "didn't have this thing." Does this mean she will never be able to "have" the completed jewel? Or did the jewel interpret that "wish" to only be for that moment? This is also important to illustrate the warped ways that the jewel can interpret wishes.


	6. Chapter 6 What is she?

Chapter 6 What is She?

Sesshomaru was jolted out of his deep thoughts when he heard Kagome gasp and exclaim, "Oh, God! I wished that I didn't have the jewel just moments before it was shattered!" The anxiety coming from the girl sky-rocketed and he felt her powers brush against him again. He growled, "Calm yourself!" and watched as the girl seemed to swallow her tongue. But, at least the tempest of her powers ceased buffeting his person.

Kagome's mind swirled around this realization as she started rambling out loud. "If I accidentally made a wish on the jewel, does that mean it will never come back to me? If I wished I didn't have that thing, does that mean it will only go back to someone else? Or, was that just a momentary thing? Stupid jewel, to take something so innocent and twist it to something so evil. Just think of all the people who have been hurt because of those stupid shards. Gah! I should have wished that it vanished, or ceased to exist. Now, Naraku has most of it."

Sesshomaru commented in his normal cool voice, "Girl, if you had not shattered the jewel, a demon would have complete control over the entire jewel and this world would have suffered an even greater evil than Naraku." In his mind, he was trying to figure out why he was trying to console her. As in all things dealing with humans, he blamed his new found sentimentalities on Rin. One could not be in Rin's presence without being changed. The question remained to be answered if it was a good change or not.

Kagome was surprised that Sesshomaru was trying, in his own way, to make her feel better. She explained, "It's just that I feel responsible for the jewel. Did you know it's only here in this time again because of me?" Her voice was tiny in the enclosed space as she waited for a response. There was a sound that could have been a sigh, but nothing more. She stopped for a minute, and in a shocked voice she asked, "Wait a minute, how did you know I shattered the jewel? I'm sure Inuyasha couldn't have told you during one of your fights."

Sesshomaru stifled an urge to snort at the thought of Inuyasha divulging information in the middle of their battles. The boy could barely string together a few insults and comments. As if talking to a child he explained, "Your group is not silent when walking and camping."

Kagome just stared in his direction with her mouth hanging open. If he knew about that, what else did this demon lord know? Did he have spies listening to them all the time? Or did the whole demon world know about the things that Sesshomaru did?

After a period of silence as the light dimmed further, Sesshomaru found himself half listening to the girl's chatter. She spoke endlessly about her friends and their antics. But, these friends must be from her home, because they were not the ones she currently traveled with, and none of their adventures included demons or attacks. Their activities were all quite tame, and involved a place called "school."

Probably every firth word actually registered in the girl's monologue. He only made the appropriate sounds to make her think he was listening, but his eyes had glazed over and his thoughts were distant. When she said strange words, his interest perked up and he stored the word away to ask about some other time. A few words he could glean the definition by the context of the sentence she used them in, and others were just too foreign. No point in breaking her train of thought while she was so willing to talk. Later, when she wore down, he would ask his questions to help keep her awake. Also, when she was exhausted, he was more likely to get her to reveal any secret information that she might not divulge under normal circumstances. Like, where she was from that had such strange materials and containers.

So far he had a long list of new words to discover; school, exam, T.V., phone, car, books, English, shower, shampoo, WacDonalds, hamburger, fries, coke, volleyball, doctor, computer, social studies, and the list went on.

He sensed the coming darkness and wondered what she would do without her sight. Most humans that he had encountered were pitiful in the dark with their inferior sense of sight. Rin was not disturbed by the dark because of her complete faith in him to protect her. But on the occasional night, where he was not present, Jakken had told him of her need for a large fire to keep away the scary demons out in the dark.

Once all the light had fled from the cave, he was shocked to have a bright light flood the room as if the sun had arisen again. His eyes protested at the painful light, since they had already adjusted for the lower light levels and he searched around for the source. It came from the girl's hand. Was this some new power of priestesses that he was unaware of? That wasn't possible. He prided himself on knowing his enemies' capabilities intimately. Perhaps this was another unique power of this girl alone? He had witnessed her do things that mortals were not capable of doing. It uncomfortably crossed his mind, as it did on their first encounter in his father's tomb, "what are you?"

He could remember the disappointment he felt when he thought he had dissolved the girl and confirmed she was a mere mortal. But then, she had risen from the neutralized pool of poison, still brandishing the sword. So, did that make her NOT a mere mortal? If he had not been in the middle of battle, he would have taken more time to study this girl. She was more than she seemed and it intrigued him. Living so long, life became routine and boring. Any demon with half the intelligence that he possessed would love such a puzzle as this supposed mortal beside him. What good fortune that he was now being allowed an opportunity to study this Kagome up close and personal.

He had already decided she didn't smell human. Humans carried the smell of sweat and excrement along with the continually dying cells of their body. This girl smelled clean, even when she was sweaty, and there was no taint of death. But she didn't smell demon either. Demons carried the scent of their power and their associated animal form. This girl smelled of no animal other than those she associated with, and her power seemed to carry no scent except that of the atmosphere after a lighting strike. What did that leave? Obviously, she wasn't a half-breed, because, like Inuyasha and the others of his kind, he smelled of a mix of both breeds. She wasn't a spirit, or an undead. He had encountered enough of those to recognize the scent in his sleep. Was she something totally new?

As his eyes adjusted to the increase in light, he realized that is was a projected beam of light coming from some weapon in her hand. "Girl, what is that light source?" He had truly meant to wait about asking questions, but his curiosity was too great to postpone.

Kagome jumped a bit and looked at the golden eyes squinted in her direction. She had thought him to be asleep or deep in thought, and had forgotten that he would not know what a flashlight was. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I shine it in your eyes?" she moved the beam away from his person. "This… this is a flashlight. It's like a torch, but doesn't use fire, or wood for that matter. It…. Um…. It's got these things called batteries. They…. Um…. I'm not really sure how they work, something about acid moving back and forth making electricity which is like lightning, but not as strong. And that powers this little bulb, which is like the tail of a firefly, but brighter." She smiled at herself for putting a feudal era description on a modern era gadget.

She transferred the flashlight into her left hand and moved it closer to the demon's head so he could see it. She was careful to keep the light pointed away from his sensitive eyes. "I'll let you see it in the morning when there's more light to look at it. For now, I'll just hope that it lasts long enough to keep us awake so you can get better."

With a final offer for him to sniff the plastic shatter-proof, water-proof flashlight, she pulled it back over to her body and set it down beside her pillow, so it wasn't shining in her eyes either. She moved her right hand into the beam of light cast by the flashlight and made a shadow puppet of a dog's barking head. She caused her shadow dog to open its mouth, and made barking noises like she used to do as a child. Then, she made a few more creatures like a bunny, before continuing her long-winded discussion of her friends.

She rambled about boys and how her friends kept pushing her at this one boy that was nice, but boring. Then he caught a slip of her tongue. She said, "Boys in her era were so boring compared to Inuyasha and Miroku." Then she continued on about how easy life was for those in "her era." So, she was from a different era? He did not know if the word held the same definition from where she was from, but here, it referred to a period of history. So, she was from a different period of history? His mind staggered a bit at this thought. Obviously she was not from the past, so that only left the future.

His eyes studied her shadowed face as pieces of the puzzle slipped into place. The future…where different materials could have been found or made…where people had softer lives of leisure… where boys were not raised to be warriors but instead learned useless subjects in a place called school…where girls were treated equally and educated equally…where clothes were different…and where attitudes about different breeds were different. It was the closest Sesshomaru had come to utter shock since Inuyasha had miraculously transformed Tetsusaiga and hacked his arm off. She was a time traveling girl with priestess powers. She truly was something new.

Sesshomaru had learned long ago that asking questions revealed ones lack of knowledge on a subject. Not being one to reveal such a weakness, he had learned that if you listened long enough, your questions were usually answered. So, he paid a bit more attention to the puzzle sitting next to him as she continued rambling to stay awake. He learned of her mother and how the woman supported her trips to the past by buying their provisions and first aid supplies. The same woman accepted Inuyasha at face value and trusted him to protect her daughter. 'Strangeness must run in the family.' he thought. Then she discussed her crazy grandfather who tried to exorcise Inuyasha with useless ofudas from time to time. "Granpa" thought he had powers even though he was proven false every time. Then she described the last member of her family, her pesky little brother. Even though she called him names, it was clear that she truly did love her annoying brother.

During her monologue, Sesshomaru felt her control over her powers slip from time to time, signaling the fatigue that was consuming her. The random jolt of pain from each slip prevented him from mentally drifting away. Also, her speech become disjointed and halting. He knew it would not be long before he had to join in the conversation to keep the little priestess awake. His healing depended on it.

Kagome kept talking until her eyes started to wobble and roll back into her head. It was so hard to stay awake. She didn't want to look at her watch to see how late it was. With her luck, it was only about 10 PM and she still had seven hours until dawn. She couldn't go on just talking to the silent demon beside her. She was out of topics and out of strength. Finally she whispered in a harsh, overused voice, "Lord Sesshomaru, would it be okay for me to sleep now? I don't think I can stay awake much longer. Has this helped you heal any?"

Sesshomaru recognized that the time had come for him to participate and take control of the conversation. "No you may not sleep yet. Your powers in sleep would simply reverse the healing that has occurred while you were awake." A pitiful sound came from the girl that was partly groan and partly whine. He amended, "Just a bit longer and you may rest." He didn't know why he felt pity for this woman-child that was trapped in here with him. He sympathized with the fatigue that must be dragging on her mind and body. He had once gone weeks past his body's requirement for rest when he was in training under his fearsome father. It was required to assess ones abilities under extreme conditions. The feeling had not been pleasant.

Sesshomaru finally asked his first question of his secret interrogation. "Kagome, what are you?" He knew an open ended question was likely to gather more of a response than a more specific question. He not only wanted to know what she was, but he wanted to know how she thought. What would she make of such a vague question?

Kagome was a bit confused, and her answer reflected that thinking, "Um, I'm not really sure what you mean? I'm a middle school student. Is that what you mean?" She waited for a response, but only heard silence. She knew this was a demon of few and precise words, so she started trying to fill in the silence. "Um, I mean, I'm not really a priestess. I didn't even know I had powers until I got here and that was by accident. Of course, Grandpa swore we all did since we live on a shrine and are supposedly descendents of great monks and priestesses. But, no one ever showed any such powers. I couldn't even shoot a bow and arrow when I got here. Lady Kaede had to show me how to do that. Inuyasha kept thinking I could shoot since Kikyo was a great archer and I'm supposed to be her reincarnation. But I couldn't." Her thought turned to that whole incident trying to shoot the demon crow that had the jewel and she remembered Inuyasha yelling at her "You are not Kikyo."

Sesshomaru felt the girl get lost in her thoughts, and her powers slipped again as she seemed to drift almost asleep. So, he asked his next question. "So, your parents are human?" It made sense to ask since she was obviously not human.

Kagome snorted. "Of course they are human. What else would they be?" She paused for a moment, thinking the solitude must have damaged Sesshomaru's brain.

Sesshomaru pondered on this answer a moment. So, her parents were human, yet she was not. How was that possible? For that matter, how was it possible for her to have priestess powers if she were not human? Only human females carried priestess powers.

He moved onto his next thought. "How is it that you purify demons and yet travel and care for a half demon and a full demon kitsune kit? Does this not go against the teachings of a priestess?"

Kagome was offended. "Hey! I already told you I wasn't trained as a priestess. I don't care if Inuyasha and Shippo are demons. They are good people. Just because they are demons doesn't make them evil. I've met plenty of good demons and just as many evil humans. The race doesn't make the person. It's the character of the individual that counts. Just like I don't assume you are evil just because you are a full demon. You've done some good things, Lord Sesshomaru, even if you don't want to acknowledge them." A blush came over her face as she realized she might have said too much.

Sesshomaru was amazed at this declaration. To this girl, being a demon did not automatically equate with being evil like it did for the majority of humans alive in this time. This future world of hers must be truly amazing. Or possibly it was only this girl that was unique.

He wondered out loud, "Why do you stay with Inuyasha? Why does he defend you so fiercely? And why do you defend him, even against stronger opponents?" He was picturing the encounters where she struck the Tetsusaiga and reversed its transformation, and the time she struck his armor and destroyed it. He was also thinking of how Inuyasha moved quicker and fought more precisely when he was defending this girl. Was there some deeper bond between them?

Kagome was almost too quick to answer in her embarrassment at complimenting him in her previous response. "He's my friend." Her voice sounded like she wanted to add "well, duh" like it was obvious. But she realized, it's possible Sesshomaru did not have any friends, so didn't really know about the dynamics of friendship. "I won't let anyone hurt my friends. Even if it means I might get hurt. It's just what you do for true friends. As for why he protects me, well, it started out that he needed me to help him find the jewel shards. He wanted to make a wish on the whole jewel to be turned into a full demon. So, he needed me alive. But as we traveled together, we became friends. I thought at one point that we might be more than friends then that Kikyo was brought back." She said the word Kikyo with all the annoyance she felt from the interfering clay woman.

The demon lord prodded a bit more when nothing else was forthcoming. "That is the priestess that sealed Inuyasha fifty years ago. How was she resurrected if her soul was already reincarnated into you?" He had dealings with the dead woman. He had seen her force Kagome down the well during the crisis with Menomaru, the giant moth demon from the continent. She had also crossed his path when dealing with the also dead Band of Seven. There was no love loss between them, and he would rather take his vengeance against the dead woman for the sin of pinning his father's son to a tree.

Kagome huffed a bit before she answered. "Yea, Kikyo. She was Inuyasha's first love, and the one that tried to kill him. She was also the last protector of the Shikon jewel before it turned up in me. Apparently, an ogress used her ashes and graveyard soil to make a new body for her, but there was no soul to animate it. The nasty hag kidnapped me and sucked out my soul to put in that creepy doll. I didn't really believe I was Kikyo's reincarnation until then. I mean, if she wasn't in me, then how could her soul and memories end up in that clay body? But it didn't stick. Kaede told me that I wasn't dead, and that I called my soul back to me. But it seems a little bit stuck in Kikyo's new body. But it was just the anger and hatred from her death."

Kagome was quiet for a minute then continued. "You know, it's really a shame that Kikyo can only feel hateful towards Inuyasha. He is always running to her aid when she calls. He's so worried about her. He even said he never stops thinking about her. I know he won't say it, but I think he still loves her and wants to save her somehow. But how do you save someone who's dead? And why would you want to save someone who keeps trying to kill you and your friends?" her voice grew angry and desperate. "He's so stupid sometimes! He treats her like his wife. Even when she stole our fragment of the jewel from me and gave it to Naraku, Inuyasha couldn't believe she could be evil. I just don't get it. I mean, I want him to be happy, but how can he be happy if she drags him to the afterlife after Naraku is destroyed. What kind of love is that? I mean, I love Inuyasha just like he is, and all I want is for him to be happy, even if it's not with me. But Kikyo, she just wants revenge for something Inuyasha didn't even do! I just wish I could slap some sense into her sometimes."

Her voice slowly shifted from aggravation to sadness. "Isn't it ironic? The boy I love looks at me and sees his first love, that I'm a reincarnation of. Yet, he chases after a clay body that houses a piece of my soul that was hers. It's so twisted it makes my head hurt just to think about it. But, the sad thing is, I'm not her. Every now and then, Inuyasha even admits that he knows I'm not her. And yet, I feel it sometimes when he looks at me, that I look too much like her for him to distinguish between us."

Kagome's jaw clenched as she rejected the idea. "I don't care what anyone says, I'm not just Kikyo's reincarnation. Maybe her soul was in there somewhere, but that's not all I am. Urasue and Kanna both mentioned about how large my soul is. Maybe more than one soul is needed to protect and hide the jewel? What a horrible fate to have to live lifetime after lifetime protecting that bauble. Isn't it just possible that Kikyo was just along for the ride? Like a spiritual parasite?" She smiled as she pictured the older priestess as a giant tick, with the teeny weeny head and bloated body. It might not be the nicest thing to think, but it was hard not to hold a grudge against someone who had stolen things and people from her and who had tried to kill her.

Sesshomaru quietly digested this information. Reincarnation was known but not certain. He had always thought it merely a comforting dream of weak humans. All demons expected to pass on to the afterlife and that was the end of it. Except for those rare occasions when someone interfered with the natural order, like Naraku and Sounga. Yet here was someone who could prove reincarnation did occur.

And how ironic that the woman his brother loved was reincarnated into a girl that Inuyasha protected. No wonder the boy was confused. The demon lord almost felt sorry for all three of them, but only almost. He assumed that once the dead priestess was eliminated, that the estranged piece of the girl's soul would return and some of the confusion would evaporate. But there would still be the question of whether Inuyasha loved the new priestess or the old one.

Then there was the issue of the girl's overly large soul. Is it possible that is where her unique powers and characteristics come from? An ordinary mortal can not hold more than one soul. It would cause insanity. Is it possible that a totally new creature was created to house the jewel and keep it dormant? Or had the jewel itself gathered what it needed to survive? If that jewel had spent centuries in the afterlife, could it have gathered pure souls and bound them to itself? Of course, that was assuming that the jewel was intelligent and could formulate plans. But, then, wasn't it made from the living souls of a conglomeration of demons trapped inside the soul of a warrior priestess.

Sesshomaru asked a question he had wondered since the Menomaru incident. "Why does the dead priestess want you out of the way? Why is she threatened by you?"

Kagome gasped at the straightforwardness of this question. She stuttered a bit. "Um, I don't know. Well… she did say once that I was in the way of her getting Inuyasha. And she's always telling me I don't belong in this time." Sesshomaru smirked at the little telltale slip regarding the girl's time travel. "I think truthfully, part of her is jealous that I'm friends with Inuyasha like she couldn't be when she was alive. I mean, I don't care that he's a half demon. But when she was alive, it was taboo for a priestess to have any dealings with one. I think she resents what I've got."

Sesshomaru smelled tears and glanced over to confirm Kagome's sobbing softly into her arm. Her muffled voice drifted to him. "Isn't that funny. She wants what I've got, which is his friendship, and I want what she's got which is his love. But at the same time, I wonder if I only love him because her soul is a part of me. It's just so messed up."

A low rumble echoed through the cave and caused a bit of dust to settle down from the ceiling. All talking ceased as both held their breaths, waiting to see what was happening. Sesshomaru whispered, "Snuff your lantern." With a click, the flashlight beam disappeared. The dark smothered them in the tense moment.

Kagome's nerves were about to snap. She was thinking, 'Oh great. Now what's going to happen? An earthquake? A monster to dance on the ground above us? It's not like we're in any shape to do anything about it. Why can't we just catch a break?'

Sesshomaru sniffed cautiously to determine if he could smell any demons beyond their enclosing walls. There was the scent of a few small fry demons, but nothing to worry about. But instead, he smelled the heavy fragrance of moisture and lightning. He sighed silently and informed his companion, "A storm is approaching."

Kagome's sleepy mind groaned as she tried to think about what that would mean. "So, we're expecting lots of water, all of a sudden. Well, we've got the one rain coat and I think I've still got a sheet of plastic I usually put under my sleeping bag. That should be enough to cover us a bit if the roof starts leaking."

Sesshomaru huffed at this concern and mentioned with a condescending voice, "Rain is not an issue for demons." Even in the pitch dark, he could make out the scowl on the girl's face which was quite comical. If he were any lesser demon, he might have grinned.

In the next hour, Kagome learned that weathering a thunderstorm in an underground cave has distinct advantages and disadvantages. The overall noise was muffled with so much dirt and stone above them. Unfortunately, the dirt part that was over them was not waterproof. The drips of water started off slowly. But as the ground became saturated the drips turned into trickles. And not just trickles of water, but of mud. Puddles began to form on the cave floor. It was not long before Sesshomaru's position was in danger of being swamped.

With irritation apparent, the demon lord gingerly shifted his legs closer to his body. He had not moved in days, so this would not be easy. Yet, somehow, he managed to shift himself up the rock using only his legs. Kagome could hear movement beside her and clicked the flashlight back on. She saw Sesshomaru gently lifting himself up onto the rock that she occupied. It was a good three feet higher off the floor and would keep him drier longer.

Even though he had denied the need for cover, Kagome still insisted that the demon lord use the sheet of plastic to keep the majority of the muddy water off his person. She, on the other hand, had donned the raincoat and raised the hood to cover her head. With the coat open and stretched out as far as it could go, she could keep herself, her nest of clothes, and the contents of her backpack dry. The only part of her that she could not keep dry, was the part still trapped in the dirt and rocks.

It was a nasty feeling to have water trickling down her legs and her have nothing she could do to prevent it. She was shivering again, just like the first night in captivity. This was going to be a long, sleepless night. But, she tried to look on the bright side. At least Sesshomaru could heal even more.

Sesshomaru normally did not dislike rain. It was inevitable when out scouting his lands. Still, he could prefer to be at home when it was inclement. This wasn't just a matter of some inconsequential water, this was mud. It was beneath his station to be covered in filth. That was the only reason he had accepted the girl's offer of the strange covering. It seemed to be the same alien material as the coat, but it was clear like the water container. 'Such strange and wonderful things in the future.' He wondered, just for a moment, if he would be able to follow the girl there. But then his rational mind concluded, if that were possible, then he would have heard rumors of it happening. As he had not, he could only assume it was not possible. Although, there were times when his brother's scent and presence disappeared completely from the area. Was it possible that Inuyasha could travel with her? That would make a strange sort of logic if he believed that the jewel itself sent the girl back to resurrect the boy. It seemed she and Inuyasha were somehow linked to the fate of that stupid jewel across time.

He wondered in the back of his mind, why the jewel had chosen Inuyasha. He could understand choosing Kagome. She was strong, pure and determined. But, surely there was a better protector than Inuyasha. Why not someone better, like himself? For the better part of an hour, Sesshomaru amused himself trying to imagine what would have been different if Kagome had returned from the future, and he was the protector instead of Inuyasha. It was a rather ludicrous and amusing mental exercise. The truth is that he would probably not have been half as patient as his half-witted brother when the girl shattered the jewel. At the time, he had not met Rin, and had not held a very high opinion of humans. It would be quite likely that he would have just taken the jewel away from Kagome to protect it himself, and would have let the demons have her. But then, he would never have discovered the enigma that is Kagome, the non-human, human, untrained priestess. Life would have been so much more boring.

In the quiet reverie of the dripping cave, Sesshomaru acknowledged, to himself only, that he was quite glad he had made the acquaintance of this Kagome and had not succeeded in killing her in their earlier encounters. She would bear closer scrutiny in the future.

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO


	7. Chapter 7 Can we catch a break?

Chapter 7

The night was wet, dreary and long. Sesshomaru sat precariously perched on the same rock as this girl. His sweat pants clad legs hung off the edge of the rock ledge only a few inches from the puddles on the floor of the cave. Luckily, since the girl was so uncomfortable, she was not struggling to stay awake anymore. Unfortunately, she was shivering so hard that it was practically vibrating through his body.

The storm had ended quite some time ago, and the in pouring of water had died down to an occasional drip. Still, as the puddles in the floor receded, the moisture in the air made it seem even colder. Being a demon lord, Sesshomaru told himself that the cold did not affect him. But in his weakened condition, he had to admit, if only to himself, that it was seeping into his bones. The shredded silk of his top did nothing to retain body heat, and the clear sheet of what Kagome called "plastic" was equally useless. He remembered her offering him some type of shirt and finally turned to the girl to ask if the offer was still available.

As he turned slightly to face her in the dark, he realized he smelled something odd. There was a thick scent coming from her shivering body. It was the smell of sickness and thickening mucus. A lesser being would have rolled his eyes or sighed, but not Lord Sesshomaru. Such reactions were beneath him. Instead, he tried to think how he might help her. It was in his best interests to keep this priestess well. No telling what her powers would do to him at such close proximity if she were too sick to control them.

Without really thinking about what the consequences were, Sesshomaru unwound his Mokomoko-sama and carefully worked it over towards the girl. He tapped her lightly with it so as not to startle her in her near blindness in the night. She still jumped slightly at the pressure on her raincoat clad shoulder.

Kagome was not expecting any contact from the demon beside her. For that matter, she was not even thinking about him beside her. All her attention was focused on restraining her powers tightly within the confines of her body, and trying to find a way to use them to stay warm! The hours of cold, moist air invading the cave had taken their toll on her and left her feeling weak and ill. She could feel an ache starting in the back of her throat, and her nose started running just a bit. Enough to make her sniffle every once in a while. It would be awful if she were to become sick down here. There was no nice hot spring or herbal tea to make her feel better. She was pretty sure she had some cold medicine in her bag, but she would wait until morning to see if she got worse. Wouldn't want to waste the precious medicine. At this point, she was really hoping Inuyasha would show up soon.

So, the tap on her shoulder almost made her jump out of her skin. Her mind scrambled to try and figure out what it was? Had a rat jumped down on her from above? A clod of dirt? Then, the familiar deep voice of her co-captive spoke gently out from the darkness to her left and slightly above her. "Kagome, do you still have the clothing that you spoke of earlier?"

Her bleary mind took a minute to focus on what he was truly saying. She chattered out, "Oh, the flannel shirt. Yes, please, I hope you will consider wearing it." She shifted to remove the side of the raincoat that was covering her backpack, and clicked on the flashlight. With a bit of maneuvering, she had pulled the pack back up by her head, and dragged out the oversized blue and black plaid flannel shirt. With a twist of her body, she was facing him with the shirt. She shook it out a bit to unfold it and was going to just hand it to him when she realized, he didn't have any arms to grab it with. In any other setting, she would have smacked herself in the forehead for her stupidity. This time, her head already hurt, and she was afraid anymore abuse would render her unconscious. But, she had to come up with some way to help him put on the shirt.

She studied his figure for a moment. His Mokomoko-sama was still unwound from his shoulders, so that would make putting the shirt on easier. If she worked it up his broken arm to his shoulder, then he could lean over a bit, and she could drape it over his other shoulder. She wasn't too sure how she would manage to button it up his front, but she would unwrap her left hand and give it a try.

She spoke as gently as she could while trying to control her annoying chattering. "If you could hold your arm out a bit, I will try to put this shirt on for you. It will be much warmer if I can get it on you properly and button it up." He complied and held his splinted arm out towards her face.

It was hard because he was so tall that his sitting on her rock made it almost impossible to reach all the way up to his shoulders. Still, she threaded his arm gently through the sleeve and managed to push the shirt up to his right shoulder. "Now, if you could lean forward slightly I might be able to work your left arm into the sleeve." She was thankful that he simply did as she asked instead of whipping out his "I am demon. Bow down before me" attitude. Seriously, she was only trying to help him. She was getting nothing out of this little exercise other than a crick in her neck and shoulder.

It was harder getting the stub of his left arm into the sleeve because she had to reach up and across his broad back. And the expanse of billowing silk was definitely in the way. Still, she was not about to ask him to remove his shirt! Heavens no! He was practically laying his torso down over his legs, even with her body to help her. But finally, she succeeded with the second sleeve.

Before she even told him he could sit back up, she started trying to pull his silky hair out of the back of the shirt. She knew she hated it when she put on a coat and her hair got stuck under the collar. Maybe she should put his hair up in a pony tail or braid to keep it out of the way? "Lord Sesshomaru, would you like me to tie your hair back once I free it from your collar?" A barely perceptible nod was her only response. So, after she freed his hair, she dug through her bag for a black scrunchy that she used when it was really windy.

It almost felt like she was committing a terrible sin against the mighty demon beside her as she put a ninety-nine cent scrunchy in his hair. With that done, she informed him, "I've finished. Please sit back so I can try to button the shirt. It will feel much better when the front is closed."

With her right hand, she carefully unwrapped her burned left hand. She was careful to keep the bandages up out of the dirt and placed them on her nest of clothes to use in a few minutes. Though her fingers hurt, she knew she could probably grit her teeth long enough to get a few buttons fastened.

She reached across his torso to pull the far side of the shirt over towards her. It was awkward reaching over with one hand, but after a few tries, she fastened her first button. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the strain. She pursed her mouth as she concentrated. Never once did she notice the curious eyes of the very demon that she was dressing.

He watched her work these strange little pearl colored circles into very intricate, stitched slots. He thought, "This must be another strange futuristic invention. It is actually fairly ingenious. And it seems much more likely to stay in place than current day conventions of tying multiple layers of kimono with obis and sashes."

Just the fact that this "shirt" was covering his exposed injuries had him feeling warm enough to almost sigh in relief. The cold had made his cuts and gashes sting, and the exposed skin against the rock face behind him had not felt any better. This fabric was warm and rather fuzzy. Although, the design was cut closer to the body and arms than he was accustomed.

Feeling much better, Sesshomaru took notice that Kagome had returned to her resting pose on her pile of clothes and clicked off the light source. It was not long before the warmth she generated with her awkward exertion had faded. Again, her teeth began to chatter. He would never do anything like this under normal conditions, but he felt he needed to do something in return for all the help she had given him.

Without even saying anything, Sesshomaru snaked his Mokomoko-sama up under the rain coat covering Kagome's body. A startled squeak came from the girl. But he continued and morphed the fluff into a wider flatter version of itself to cover her whole back. He could tell she was about to protest when the warmth of the fur calmed her nerves and her shivering. He knew it wasn't much, but it was the least he could do.

For the rest of the night, Sesshomaru would nudge Kagome with his knee when she would drift off to sleep. But he only did this when her powers assaulted him. Since he was touching her with his Mokomoko-sama, it didn't take much to send a charge of pain through him. There were a few instances where she fell asleep and her powers stayed restrained. Maybe she was learning control? He could only hope.

Sesshomaru had been quietly reflecting on the roof of the cave. As far as he could tell, the ceiling of their little cave seemed to consist of several large boulders that were precariously jammed together like the arches of a bridge. He knew from demolishing bridges in battle that removing the capstone at the top would remove any support and cause the entire structure to collapse. He was trying to figure out how to dig them out without causing the complete collapse of the little cave. He finally settled on the quickest, simplest method. When he was properly healed, he would form his cloud, have the girl hold on, and launch an attack at the roof. When the hole opened up, he would be on his way out. Any other option risked having this human crushed by more falling rocks. Although, they had survived the first round of falling rocks with minor damage, he did not want to chance a repeat performance.

At one point, his usual nudge startlingly resulted in the girl letting out a shriek of anger, "Would you STOP THAT! I'm tired! LEAVE ME ALONE! If you shove me one more time I'm going to do something… I don't know what…. But I'm going to do SOMETHING! Maybe I'll shove YOU back, right off this damn rock! Right into the mud puddle down there! " Her temper let loose a large wave of her power, and Sesshomaru could not control the grunt of pain that accompanied it.

He could almost hear her head snap around and feel the air move as she gasped at her actions. "Oh Kami, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I'm so sorry for hurting you. I just don't want to be here anymore. I'm so tired. I just wanna go HOME." The word "home" surged into a screech of frustration as the girl smacked her right hand down onto the rock surface and buried her head under her covers. She knew she was whining and complaining in a situation where he was just as bad off as she was. She really didn't mean to snap at him. He was being as nice as he could be by nudging her to keep her from releasing her powers. He could have been mean. He could have poked her with one of those wickedly sharp claws. He could have just melted her and he would have healed at a normal rate.

He had lost track of the number of times this young woman had surprised him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as she apologized profusely for hurting him. This was the first her temper had appeared since they had become trapped. It was startling. The more he saw of her personality, the more he could understand the loyalty his brother felt towards her. She could be respectful and considerate. She could be thoughtful and contrite. She could need saving at one moment, and then defending her friends the next. And she could be whiney and angry. She was quite a contradictory girl. She was definitely more interesting than the typical human that only worried about food, shelter and minimal survival.

A smile tried to break out on his face as he remembered the fights where Inuyasha had moved faster, struck harder and fought better because he was protecting her. It had never been clear to him if Inuyasha was tapping into some inner strength of his own, or if the girl was somehow channeling her power into him. This was the opposite of the effect that the traitorous priestess from fifty years ago had on his brother. The dead priestess had made Inuyasha weaker and more vulnerable; easily manipulated. Still, it was hard to tell if that was the priestess' fault, or simply a character flaw of Inuyasha. Maybe the boy had matured since being pinned to a tree.

Kagome simply lay face down and listened to Sesshomaru's presence. She couldn't actually listen to any noises he made, because he wasn't making a sound. Not even his breathing could be heard. Did full demons have to breathe? Surely they did. Even though she knew they were different, they must not be too different since demons could breed with humans. Like horses and donkeys breeding to make mules.

A memory of a documentary she watched in biology class tickled at the back of her consciousness. Hmmm, most mules were sterile because the parents had different numbers of chromosomes. Was it the same with demons? She turned just slightly to ask, "Lord Sesshomaru?" and waited for any sign that he was listening or that she could ask. A slight scraping noise came from beside her so she assumed that was permission to continue. "Are half-demons able to reproduce? I know we've met a few half-demons, but most of them were kids. I've never even seen an adult half-demon. It seems Inuyasha is the oldest one around and he's still too immature to be thinking about starting a family." She huffed at this thought. Yea right. She could not imagine Inuyasha being a doting father and making the sacrifices to care and provide for offspring.

Sesshomaru was shocked at the strange notions that spewed from this girl's brain. What in the world could she have been thinking to wonder about the reproductive capability of half-demons? Possibly she was spending too much time around the perverted monk. He would have to watch the untrustworthy male when Rin was present. For that matter, he might need to mention this development to his brother, some time after he had beaten Inuyasha into submission.

With a shocked look on his face that the girl could not see, he answered, "This Sesshomaru does not concern himself with the breeding capabilities of half-breeds. But you are correct as to the relative age of Inuyasha. He is barely out of childhood in demon years. And you are also correct that he is the oldest half-breed currently in existence."

Kagome chewed on her chapped lips and tried to pull off the thickened skin. "Inuyasha's about 200 years old, right? I mean, that's how long Sia said Sounga was sealed since your father passed. How long do demons and half-demons live? And how come Inuyasha's the oldest?"

Sesshomaru really wanted to get away from this topic. Still, answering the girl would keep her awake, and he felt that his wounds were nearly healed enough to withstand purity attacks at the same level as his normal skin. "You are correct on Inuyasha's age. Although, he is only matured to a half-demon of 150 years of age due to his slumber on the tree. The lower level demons perish after a handful of years. While the higher status demons can live for millennia."

Kagome cocked her head in contemplation. "So, how long is a demon a child? Inuyasha seems to be about my age."

Sesshomaru spelled it out. "A demon is immature until reaching 200 years old. They stay in a small child stage for the first hundred years. This allows the child to learn control over their powers before they develop more."

Kagome's mind wandered and she realized she must have dozed off as she felt Sesshomaru's knee nudge her to get her attention. She mumbled, "Sorry. I'm sooooooo tired." But with no real feeling behind it. It had become a habit now. How much longer could this night last? Were they stuck in that timeless vortex like the night before? Gag she hoped not.

She steeled her resolve and decided to click on her light and read from her journal some more. It was better than constantly pestering the demon lord beside her. She had no way of telling how long his patience would last.

She turned to the page she had read last. That was the demon crow and the shattering of the stupid jewel. She continued on, reading about the battle with Yura of the hair. Kagome thought to herself, 'And people say I'm dressed indecently!' Just picturing that teeny little dress the hair demoness wore made her blush. Then, Sesshomaru appeared for the first time with the un-mother creature that tried to absorb Inuyasha. After the extraction of the pearl in Inuyasha's eye, they were off to their Father's grave.

Kagome's neck began to ache from the position necessary for reading, so she clicked off the light and lowered her head. In her mind's eye, she could picture the enormous bones of the great demon resting in the afterworld. Myoga had said that was his true form, free of all spells. She finally had to ask, "Lord Sesshomaru? Why was your father's form so large in his grave? Is that how big he was when he was in his true form?"

Sesshomaru almost snorted at another random change of topic. He again wondered what fueled this girl's thoughts. She was reading from that strange bound scroll. Maybe it had something to do with demons? He responded, "Father was never so large in life. When he died, his form was no longer restrained to contain his power, so it reverted to its natural size. If I continue to grow in power as I age, I will also attain such a large stature in my true form."

She opened her mouth to ask more questions about demon true forms but stopped when she heard a rumble. She lifted her head to peer around in the deep darkness. "Um, is that more thunder?" Her heart fell at the thought of enduring more dripping mud. Couldn't they catch a single break?

Sesshomaru tensed beside her and withdrew his Mokomoko-sama from under her raincoat. The rumbling came again and he sniffed at the air, just as he had before the storm. This time, it was not a simple building of humidity. There was a scent leaking out from the dirt around them. The rumbling grew louder and more frequent. This was not good.

"No. A demon is approaching underground." He sounded like he was not concerned at all. Of course, he was the great and mighty Sesshomaru. Kagome began to worry and turn her head to pinpoint the source of the noise.

She exclaimed, "Oh just great. What are we supposed to do to defend ourselves? You're still all beat up and I'm pinned to a rock!" Her mind scrambled for possible weapons. Her bow was destroyed. His arm was still wrapped up. Her arrows were missing. There was nothing explosion worthy in her back pack. Well, maybe she could throw rocks at the burrowing demon. There were plenty of rocks around.

Then her mind tried to imagine what could be digging around. The last subterranean demon she saw was the man eating worm that attacked them at Jinengi's home. Goodness, she hoped it wasn't another one of those. She still had nightmares about the ugly head with the weird tentacles pouring out of its grotesque mouth.

Bits of ceiling rock and soil began tumbling down with the increased vibrations in the surrounding ground. It sounded like a subway train roaring into a station. Kagome scrambled to turn her flashlight back on as she smelled something awful, like decayed leaves. Hot, putrid air suddenly blew across her face as she clicked on the halogen beam.

Not two feet before her was an enormous wall of muddy brown fur. Her first thought was "RAT!" It was huge and it was making awful squealing noises that pierced her eardrums. Then, the tiny head, that was still larger than her whole body, turned to face them.

The squealing grew even louder, if that was possible as the almost closed, beady eyes twitched from the beam of light shining at them. Kagome almost wanted to laugh. This wasn't a disgusting worm. This was a GIANT MOLE! Once she realized the critter was a plant eater, she almost wanted to laugh. It could almost be said to be cute. And as it turned out, the flashlight was the perfect weapon. She knew how painful it was to shine a halogen light into a human's eyes. She could only imagine how awful it must feel for those eyes that were accustomed to only darkness.

With one more flash of light at the terrified beast, it turned and burrowed into the wall of the cave farthest away from them. It was shocking how quickly such an enormous demon could move into the ground. What was even better than it leaving was the huge, demon-sized tunnel it left in its wake!

As silence returned to the now larger cave, Kagome shown her flashlight as far as it would go down both tunnels. She gasped, "Do you think that could be a way out?"

Sesshomaru sniffed the different scents coming from the tunnels. "There is fresh air coming from the tunnel to the left."

Kagome's mind raced with thoughts and possibilities. Fresh air meant a passage to the surface. It might only be a small hole in the ceiling like their light shaft, but it had to be something. Considering that the mole would probably not venture above ground, it most likely was not a true exit. Anyway, it was something to investigate.

She turned to glance where the demon sat next to her and announced, "Well, I guess we need to go look around. I'm getting tired of waiting for Inuyasha to find us. How about I dig MYSELF out and get the heck out of this hell-hole?"

His only response was, "That is acceptable."

To which Kagome added, "Yes, sounds like a plan! Only, AFTER a nap." And she waited for Sesshomaru to object. When he did not, she rested her head on the pillow and sighed deeply. It was wonderful allowing sleep to take over after fighting it for so long.

Sesshomaru returned his Mokomoko-sama to aid in warming the girl's back. This way he could also nudge her gently when her powers got out of control. With the deepening of her breathing, he turned his attention to the questions the girl had asked before they had been interrupted by the wandering mole demon. There was no telling what the girl would ask when next she was awake. He was almost looking forward to what she could come up with next. Almost.

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	8. Chapter 8 Meanwhile

To all my wonderful readers: Last chapter earned more reviews from a single chapter than some of my other stories combined. I am so honored to have such generous readers who enjoy my story. It also proves that Rumiko Takahashi created some intriguing characters that we all still love to read about. So, it follows that I do not own any rights to anything other than my own imagination and plot. Now, if Ms Takahashi wanted to buy my story, or writing ability, I would consider it. (hint, hint, I you are reading this….) But, then again, this wouldn't play out very well in a cartoon or manga. It would be the same picture over and over… Sess torn up and Kagome in a wall.

Still, I would LOVE for someone to draw the great and terrible Lord Sesshomaru in navy sweat pants and a plaid flannel shirt with his hair in a scrunchy! Maybe post it on deviant art or something????? (hint, hint) If you do, please let me know.

I know I promised several readers that the excavation of Kagome would start in this chapter, but we needed to check in on Inuyasha and Sesshomaru started doing interesting and sneaky things while the girl was sleeping. Sorry.

So, consider this a thank you chapter for everyone that took the time to review chapter 7.

Now, on with the story……

Chapter 8

Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku were exhausted and beginning to lose hope. They had traveled endless miles searching for some sign of their lost friend. Inuyasha only spoke in insults to urge his companions on. Sango spoke only to reassure Shippo. Shippo tried to act like nothing was wrong. Miroku only spoke encouraging words to keep up the flagging morale. And Kirara, well, since she couldn't really speak, she only mewed or growled in response to the others.

The group had decided to keep traveling through the night with Sango draped across Kirara's back asleep, and Miroku riding on Inuyasha's back in Kagome's usual position, also asleep. Kirara had reassured Inuyasha that she could keep up with his frantic pace through out the night if her load was lighter. So, Miroku and Shippo had abandoned their usual ride for Inuyasha's not as graceful transportation. In truth, Shippo was having a hard time sleeping since Inuyasha was carrying him like a football under his arm. But then, Shippo had only slept in snatches since losing Kagome. It just wasn't the same as sleeping in her calming presence.

As dawn broke on the weary hunters, a crow startled up out of the bushes beside Inuyasha's feet as he landed and prepared for another leap into the air. Since he was so tired, his senses were a bit slower than usual. Also, the only scent he concentrated on belonged to a certain time traveling girl. With the sudden movement beside him, Inuyasha's nerves jumped, and his footing slipped. In a moment, the half-demon went from carelessly leaping through the air to landing flat on his face and sliding for quite a ways, stopping against a tree. His passengers went flying in their slack, sleeping postures and did not waken until the ride came to an abrupt and painful halt, also against some trees.

Shippo was the first to gather his wits enough to shout, "Hey! What did you do THAT for, Inuyasha?" He righted himself and brushed the dirt off his little outfit, and pulled leaves out of his bushy tail.

Miroku gingerly lifted himself off the ground and commented in an amused voice, "Surely, my good man, there are easier ways to awaken us than to pitch us into the woods? A simple, 'wake up' would suffice."

Kirara had turned back from their path when she heard the commotion, and the change in direction had been enough to awaken the ever alert demon slayer on her back. Sango looked over the three males and asked, "What happened? Are you all okay?" Kirara mewed her agreement with Sango's questions.

Everyone turned to see the red robed figure of Inuyasha still face down where he slid into a tree. The path his body had cleared in its slide reflected just how far he had traveled. They all hoped that he had not traveled all that distance on his face, as it appeared by his stopping position.

Concern was beginning to spread throughout the group until the faint growling and grumbling started rising from their downed companion. They relaxed, knowing if he was well enough to curse, he was not too badly hurt.

Inuyasha finally pushed his body up off the ground with his arms, although he did stay on his hands and knees. His long white hair hung down around his lowered head and dragged the ground. The grumbling grew louder until he shouted, "Dammit, dammit, dammit! Where IS she?!!?! We should have found SOMETHING by now! How could she just vanish?" With each sentence, he pounded his fist into the ground until there was quite a crater beneath his hand.

Sango and Miroku exchanged worried glances since they knew how precious Kagome truly was to the half demon. She was his first true friend; the first person who saw him only as a person, and not as a half demon; the first person who put herself in harm's way to defend him; the first person, since his mother, who was willing to die for him; the first person to openly defy him; the first person to invite him into her family; the first person he had actually, expressly, offered his protection to, even if it turned out that he had failed in that protection more than he wanted to remember.

That was one of the main reasons they were all pushing themselves beyond the point of exhaustion. This strange girl with her futuristic habits and attitudes meant a lot to each of them. Before Kagome, they had all been alone. Without Kagome's influence, they would probably still be wandering, alone. At times, Kagome was like the leader, using each person's strongest abilities to benefit the group. But, she was never arrogant or domineering, (unless you counted her using the 'sit' command) like some tyrants or generals were known to be. She never asked someone to do something that she, herself, could not or would not do.

Inuyasha finally stopped pounding his fist into the dirt. While that was helping relieve some of his pent up frustration, it was not helping them get any closer to their missing friend. He sat up in his crouched doggy style, and finally turned around to rest his back against the tree. He placed his hands inside the sleeves of his kimono and closed his eyes to breathe calmly. At least, that was the plan. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and announced. "This isn't working. We haven't found a single trace of Kagome or that asshole. We need to try something else. Anyone got any ideas?"

Miroku and Sango were shocked to hear their friend speaking so practically. Inuyasha's usual approach to any problem was to charge in and hack it to pieces before it got a chance to attack first. He usually only wanted to do things his way and was unwilling to listen to alternatives, unless Kagome buttered him up with Raman, or threatened him with sitting. Maybe he was actually learning? Or maybe this was some strange imposter?

The group came forward and settled around the sitting half demon and started trying to think of other ways they could go about finding her. Miroku suggested, "If we had another shard, I might be able to feel the connection it has to the shards Kagome is carrying. I know that the whole jewel was able to influence the shards in Kagome's possession that time that Tsubaki cursed her. I've never tried anything like that before, so it might not work, but it's a possibility."

Inuyasha listened intently and did not respond with his usual scoffing and criticism of the idea. "Ok, that's one option. I'm not sure how we could find another shard without Kagome sensing them. What else could we try?"

Sango cleared her throat and shyly suggested, "Well, in the demon slayer village, there used to be specialized demons used for tracking. They weren't very intelligent, but their noses were super sensitive." She didn't want what she was saying to be taken as a slight against Inuyasha's, Shippo's or Kirara's tracking abilities so she added, "They were bred to be more sensitive than any natural demon, but they couldn't do anything else. I don't know if any survived the attack on the village, but if they did, they would not have gone far. Maybe we could go find one in the woods around the village?"

Again, Inuyasha didn't respond in the manner they expected. Instead of being insulted for his failure to track Kagome's scent, he simply nodded his head and looked thoughtfully off into the sky.

Shippo was so unnerved by Inuyasha's uncharacteristic behavior, he blurted out his idea before thinking about how it would affect the half demon. "What about trying to find Sesshomaru's group? I mean, if Sesshomaru is there, wouldn't he know what happened to Kagome, if she ended up with him? If he's not there, Jakken must have some way to find or track him. I mean, the toad is always following after Sesshomaru, and I doubt Sesshomaru would slow down to let Jakken keep up. He probably speeds up just to get away from the annoying little toad."

Inuyasha turned his amber eyes towards the little fox kit and asked in a cold voice, "Are you suggesting we ask that bastard for help?" Shippo scurried behind Miroku in fear of being pounded on his head. In truth, it didn't really hurt that much anymore, but it was still annoying, and hurt his pride.

Shippo squeaked in his defense, "No, we don't need his help. I just thought we could see if he was still missing too."

Miroku tensed to defend the little one and added his thoughts on the matter. "You know, Inuyasha, it might not be a bad idea. At least that way, we could determine if your half-brother knew of Kagome's whereabouts. And we wouldn't have to make a separate trip. We could encounter them on our way to try one of the other ideas. Kill two birds with one stone, as they say."

As much as Inuyasha hated coming into contact with his half-brother, it would answer some of the nagging questions that swirled in his mind. And it was true, if the bastard was still missing, Jakken would most likely be able to track him. But still, he could not imagine Sesshomaru taking enough damage to still be missing. The times the half demon had been sure he had killed that pain in the butt, the demon lord had reappeared as if nothing had happened.

After a few more minutes of brainstorming other ways to find Kagome, Sango moved to begin making some food. It had been a long, draining few days, and if they didn't keep their strength up they would be unprepared to defend themselves if they were attacked. It would be just like Naraku to plan something like this and then attack them at their weakest point. She didn't want to test Miroku's theory that Inuyasha was stronger when Kagome was near. The monk had told her the story of when Inuyasha had force Kagome down the well and taken her shards so she couldn't get back. How Inuyasha had fought, but did not have his usual power. But the minute Kagome somehow returned to this era, his full power returned. Sango really didn't want to find out whether it was just her being in this era that boosted his strength, or her close proximity. She couldn't imagine fighting Naraku's minions with a weakened Inuyasha.

While they were silently eating, Inuyasha mentioned between bites, "You know, I thought I smelled that girl that travels with the bastard the last time we circled back around to the west. It might not be a bad idea to head towards them in this sweep. If Sesshomaru's not with them, then at least we won't have to bother with killing him."

Miroku ate a bite thoughtfully. "True. By the way, when we were searching, did you pick up any scent of Koga?" Before he could continue with his thoughts, Inuyasha bristled and shouted, "What do we need with that mangy wolf?"

Miroku calmly held his hand before him to ward off the angry half demon, "We don't exactly 'need' him. I was only thinking that he has two jewel shards. If we wanted to try my suggestion, it would be easier to borrow one of his jewels than it would be to find a demon with a shard in its possession without Kagome to guide us."

They all stopped and thought about this idea while Inuyasha calmed down a bit. He finally ground out, "But, he wouldn't help us unless we told him that Kagome was missing. Then, that possessive bastard would want to either rescue her himself, or tag along with us. You know I hate his guts!"

Sango truly felt bad for Inuyasha. She knew that he felt Kagome was his, and that the wolf's claims really bothered him. Even though, Inuyasha could not claim her for himself. Anything that threatened to take his friend away from him was fought against with claw and fang and fury. Still, "But Inuyasha, if it helps us find Kagome quicker, wouldn't it be worth a little aggravation?"

Inuyasha grumbled his agreement, "Yea, I guess. But I ain't making a special trip to find that flea bag. And if he gives me any shit, I'll just cut his legs off and take the damn jewel shards. We'll need to get them eventually."

So, their course of action was decided. Instead of circling endlessly, hoping to catch a scent of Kagome, the group would sweep west in search of Sesshomaru's companions. And, if they accidentally came across Koga in their search, they would try Miroku's idea of tracing her with a shard.

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Morning broke slowly in the little cave, which was no longer just a little cave. In truth, it looked more like a station in a subway, what with the tunnel leading into their former cave and away again. Luckily, nothing else exciting had occurred in the few hours since the appearance of the frightened mole demon. Kagome had slept peacefully, and Sesshomaru had nudged her when he powers began to sting him. He noticed that the need for his intervention occurred less and less frequently until he went for an hour without being stung. The girl had learned to control her powers in her sleep. Amazing.

Sesshomaru thought about this for a moment. It must not be a normal thing for the girl's powers to be active at night, because he had observed her sleeping with the fox kit snuggled to her chest. If this happened regularly, then she would be purifying the little kit in his sleep, and would eventually kill it. So, there was something happening that was keeping her powers active. It couldn't be his mere presence, because the kit was just as much a full demon as he was.

For that matter, the kit exhibited signs that he was a high level demon. It was rare for one so young to have reached a level of power to maintain a humanoid form. A kit his age should look like a fox walking on his back legs. But this one had a humanoid face, hands and body. The only parts of him that looked like a fox were his feet and tail.

So, there must be some other factor aggravating her powers into sporadic, uncontrolled activity. Again, he tried to locate something out of the ordinary, but he truly didn't know what was ordinary for this futuristic girl. It could be something as simple as the type of dirt that was pressed against her legs, for all he knew. At that moment, he regretted not knowing a bit more about humans. All he really knew was how to kill them, and the little insights he had learned from Rin.

Thinking about Rin, he wondered if she was safe. He needed to return to his group, as he had strong doubts about Jakken's ability to protect the girl from anything more threatening than a flower. Although, Jakken had proved his worth time and again in fights against the panther tribe and Sounga. But in those situations, Jakken had been defending Sesshomaru, not a human girl.

So, Sesshomaru lifted his arm before his eyes and began flexing his clawed fingers. He could feel the recently healed bone creak a bit as the muscles moved back and forth over its surface. Luckily, the bone was not subjected to Kagome's purifying powers since there was no break in the skin above the injury. It had healed unhindered, although a bit slower than normal due to the excessive work his healing system was performing with his other injuries. Though the break in his arm was healed, it would be another day before the rest of him was improved enough to move. Still, it would be nice to have Kagome remove this strange binding around his arm. There was an annoying itch on his wrist that he could not reach with his fangs without destroying the binding.

Actually, now that he thought about it, there was no point to wait for the girl to awaken to remove this contraption. He was confident he could rip and tear the fabric wound around his arm, and then the stiff scroll would fall of its own accord. So, carefully, he brought his flannel covered arm closer to his mouth. He could imagine the shocked look of wonder when Kagome awoke to find his arm unbound.

With the precision of a clock maker, he carefully pulled the sleeve up out of the way with his teeth. Then, with teeth that were designed to rip and tear into the tough hide of his opponents or prey, he cut away the strange white strips of fabric. As predicted, the stiff scroll dropped onto his lap since there was nothing holding it in place. Without a second thought, Sesshomaru used his teeth to scratch and scratch the itchy spots that had developed under the binding. Finally, when he had covered all the irritating spots, he tugged the sleeve back down and sighed in contentment.

His hand dropped to his lap, and landed on the scroll that had been around his arm for the past few days. With nothing much else to do, he picked up the object for a closer inspection. There was a shiny green colored cover of thick paper on one side, and an even thicker piece of paper on the other side that was the color of dirt. To one side there was a long black spiral of some type of material that ran the long side of the paper and seemed to bind the parts together. On the side opposite of that, he could see the ends of multiple pieces of paper. With his thumb on the unbound side of this object, he wondered at the precision of the creator of this object. It would be incredibly difficult to make all those papers the same length and width.

After spending time wondering over the form of this object, he finally opened the cover to peer at what was on these bound scrolls. His eyebrows rose almost into his hairline. Inside were numerical calculations and neatly written notes the like he had never seen before. He could easily read the notes, since he was, after all, an educated demon, but the words were mostly meaningless. He scanned many of the papers after that and found similar numbers and notes. Not a demon to jump to conclusions, he decided to do a more thorough reading of the notes to see if he could decipher the meaning of these writings. For all he knew, this could be a great treasure of information on the secrets of priestesses and holy men. Or it could be a vast collection of magic spells to be used on sutras.

There were some words he could understand from context. The word "assignment" appeared quite frequently. So, something was "assigned." He wondered if the definition of the word still meant to give something to someone in the future as it did now. Were these missions that this girl had been sent on? There was also the word "problem" on almost every page with different numbers. Were there so many problems in the future that they had to be numbered? Surely this many problems couldn't result from just one village. Even the whole of his territory did not have this many conflicts to be solved. Was it possible that an entire nation was relying on this untrained priestess? It must be a terribly chaotic place. And why did they expect a young girl to be able to solve them all? From the looks of this scroll, Kagome must have been working all her life to solve so many of the regions problems. It was no wonder that she found the world in the past more to her liking. Even the annoying demeanor of Inuyasha must seem a vacation from the pressure placed on her narrow shoulders by this chaotic future.

Sesshomaru continued studying the scrolls and found normal words written around the top and edges of all this mysterious calculations. These words fit the image she had described in her ramblings earlier in the night when she was trying to stay awake. There were names of friends, boys, and dates and times of appointments and projects. The word "homework" appeared repeatedly with a corresponding date. It seemed barbaric to him that she could not escape this daunting responsibility even by retreating to her home. They made her perform work in the time that should be devoted to leisure and relaxation.

He remembered her ramblings of young people forced to attend a place called "school" where they were taught unknown subjects and assumed this must be how the teachers were repaid for their services. Instead of solving their own world's problems, these tyrannical adults were forcing their offspring to shoulder the burden in their stead. It was no different from child slavery except in the future they used their minds instead of their muscles.

How in the world was this girl able to perform these tasks and still find time to battle Naraku and collect Shikon shards? Come to think of it, Sesshomaru had noticed, on occasion, when he had skirted Inuyasha's camp without making his presence known, that the priestess would be huddled over a very large volume of bound scrolls. Did she bring her work with her? Even he, the great Lord Sesshomaru, was allowed to leave his responsibilities aside as he pursued his entertainment; such that is was, of hunting down Naraku, or testing Inuyasha's swordsmanship. Of course, he had been performing the same duties for so many decades that he rarely needed to engage his intellect to fulfill his responsibilities.

Shifting his head back to rest against the wall behind him, Sesshomaru huffed at the injustice of the life of a future girl. He made an oath to himself that Rin would never suffer the same fate. No matter how long Rin lived, he would guarantee that she was allowed to enjoy the simple things in life that made her smile.

With that settled in his mind, he couldn't help remember that there was another volume of bound scrolls that Kagome had been reading off and on through out their time in this cave. He became curious what revelations he might find in that volume. Would it shine light on other aspects of the future? Possibly he could find something that would prove useful in his quest for greatness.

With just the slightest sound of fabric moving, he leaned over and used his newly freed arm to grasp this second treasure. He made a specific mental note of how it was situated so that he might return the volume before the girl awoke, leaving her unaware of his newly acquired information.

To his great disappointment, Sesshomaru found that this was only a retelling of the adventures of her and Inuyasha's travels. Was she somehow recording these events for posterity? Perhaps she was considered a scribe as well as a problem solver in this future. Still, it was humorous to read about the happenings that he had not been privy to. The demon lord smirked as he pictured Kagome fondling his little brother's doggy ears in his unaware state. The boy would have had a foaming-at-the-mouth fit if he had only known. Then he read about the Shikon jewel being ripped from the girl's side. So, the jewel resurfaced from its hiding 500 or so years in the future. That was something he was not aware of, though he would never admit to something so crucial.

But the smirk died as he read on. Inuyasha had destroyed a giant centipede demoness straight away from being freed? They were a very tenacious breed and even he had difficulty destroying them. That should not have been possible for the half breed to accomplish. Sesshomaru was then shocked to find that Inuyasha had truly attacked Kagome with the intent to kill her and take the jewel from her possession. This seemed so out of character since Sesshomaru had only ever seen his brother protect this strange female. Even if he had mistaken this girl for the dead Kikyo, it had always seemed as if he had tender feelings for the older priestess. How intriguing.

As he read on, Sesshomaru almost did something unforgivable. He almost laughed out loud at reading of the placement of the subjugation necklace around Inuyasha's neck. The girl wrote about how it was rather fun to "plant his face" in the dirt when he was being annoying, rude or profane. It warmed the demon lord's heart that someone had the power to make the boy shut up. He was envious that he could not somehow tap into that same control. Just thinking of all the fun he could have at his brother's expense made this whole entrapment in this cave, and the injuries worth every moment.

After fully enjoying his daydreams, Sesshomaru noticed movement in the form slumbering beside him. He could feel through his Mokomoko-sama that Kagome's breathing was slowly increasing, and her muscles were stirring to life, signaling her ascent into wakefulness. With a swift and precise movement, he returned the volume of bound scrolls to its original position without moving a hair on her head. Then he laid his head back against the cave wall and affected a pose of a demon who had sat, deep in thought, or boredom, all night.

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Sorry if this seems to be a filler chapter. We needed to check in with the Kagome hunters. That's why I posted this chapter earlier than normal. Also, this chapter just sorta wrote itself. Hope you enjoyed.

Thank you again for reviewing. In my best Oliver Twist voice, "Please, I'd like some more, sir."

Please help imuzuok keep the crickets hidden.


	9. Chapter 9 Digging is a pain

AN: Don't get too used to 3 updates in a one week period. I blame this on after-finals-euphoria and too much caffeine.

Chapter 9

Kagome slowly struggled to join the waking world. She really didn't want to open her eyes, but she knew that she had decided it was time to get out of this mess on her own. A strange sort of eagerness nudged her towards waking, so she just went with the feeling. There was no way of telling how long she had slept (although napped was more like it). She felt the same way that she would after she pulled an all-nighter cramming for a make-up exam. With a deep breath and a sigh, she gave up any last hold that sleep had on her.

The first thing that she realized was that her bit of congestion from the night before had grown into a completely stuffed up nose, and a sore, swollen throat that felt like she had swallowed a basketball. Great. Just great.

A harsh, wet cough shook her body as she moved her head to look towards her backpack. Somewhere in that disorganized mess, she knew she had some cold medicine. Like her mother always said, 'be prepared' and 'nip a cold in the bud.' Although, she was never exactly sure if colds had buds, but she knew that if she took some medicine soon, that it might not get as bad as it could.

It didn't take long to find the medicine, and one of the last two bottles of water that remained after her rationing it for the days they had been trapped. Her mind was fuzzy as she wondered exactly how many days it had been. She only seemed to remember two endless nights, so did that make it 3 days since they had fallen in? Or was it longer? It felt much, much longer. Hopefully, when they got out, she could go home and not have missed too many exams. There was nothing worse than taking a huge number of make-up exams all at once. She really needed to get out of here soon and she'd be damned if she was going to wait on pokey old Inuyasha.

With the thought in mind to be her own hero, she realized that she needed to eat a bit more to keep her strength up. So, she dug out two blocks of Ramen and unwrapped them. The first bite was awful, and her stomach protested. These tasteless noodles were bad enough normally, but with her head cold, they were even more tasteless.

Turning to her left, she gently placed a block of noodles on the navy sweatpants covered leg beside her. It was rather inconvenient for Sesshomaru to be sitting up on her rock, because she had enjoyed being able to look him in the eye. Now, all she could see, without craning her neck around into an unnatural position (except for a cat) was his leg and hips. Not that they weren't nice to look at, it was just weird talking to a faceless pair of legs.

She gently placed the opened bottle of water between them and gnawed on the raw noodles again while she thought of what to use to dig with. It was in that thoughtful state that she realized the notebook that she had used as a splint on Sesshomaru's arm was lying in his lap. She stared at it for a moment before the meaning behind its positioning registered in her brain.

She looked up a little further to see the demon's arm lying comfortably in his lap. She questioned, "Oh, you took off the splint? Is your arm healed?" She waited for a response, and noticed his head shift down from its resting position against the rock wall. She took this to mean, 'yes, of course it's healed. Why else would this notebook be in my lap.' Her smile broke open like a sunbeam on a cloudy day. "That's great! I'm so glad you're getting better!"

Sesshomaru had ignored all the movements of the girl beside him. In his mind he was congratulating himself on secretly inspecting the girl's writings. When she commented on his arm, he noticed the nasally tone of her voice. Rin had gotten this way once and he had allowed her to wander into a village to seek a healer. The old crone had called it a cold. But this girl, instead of whining as Rin had done, was more concerned about his arm healing.

He looked down to his leg and noticed the girl had shared more of her provisions from her traveling bag. He wondered once more about the strange blocks of noodles and how they were prepared, and why anyone would want to eat anything so awful.

As if reading the demon's thoughts, Kagome commented, "When we get out of here, let me fix you some Ramen the right way. I know these raw noodles are awful, but they are really tasty when they are cooked and the seasoning added. I'd let you have the seasoning packet, but it is way too strong to eat dry, and way too salty. We'd need a gallon of water each to wash the seasoning down." Sesshomaru just looked at her like she had sprouted a third eye on her forehead, but she was getting used to that reaction.

After consuming enough dry noodles to make her stomach feel not quite so hollow, Kagome placed the remainder beside his leg and piped up, "Well, ain't nothin to it, but to do it! Time to start digging! I'm no damsel in distress waiting for Inuyasha to save me. I'll just have to do it myself." And she turned over to look into her bag again for anything that might be useful for digging. She also added under her breath, "Besides, who knows WHAT Inuyasha is doing right now. He might have stopped to visit Kikyo and have tea for all I know."

She had a metal serving spoon that was a little pointed at the end, and thought she'd start with that. She couldn't turn over to bend towards the dirt around her legs, but she just bent sideways at the waist to get closer. With the spoon, she started making little gouges in the dirt around her hips. She suddenly felt like she was in an old black and white prison break out movie. Her mind pictured Sesshomaru in prison stripes and her in the cell next door, picking at the concrete to make a hole big enough to escape from Alcatraz. Of course, in reality, he'd just melt the cell doors, walk down the hall, using his acid whip on all the guards, and walk out the front, leaving her behind with her little spoon.

She couldn't put a lot of force behind her digging, due to the sprained wrist on her right arm, and the burns on her left hand. But, she managed to scrape away a good two or three inches all around her hips before her neck, back and side muscles started to scream at the exertion. So, after only about ten minutes of digging, she had to take a break.

With a bit of a huff, she put down her spoon, and propped up her elbow and paged through her journal again. She knew better than to talk to Lord Stuck-up next to her. He hadn't said a single word since she woke up, no matter how she tried to start up a conversation. He hadn't even huffed in annoyance or anything. So, she was going to ignore him and see how he liked it!

She read about the adventure with Nobunaga and that nasty frog demon that was turning young girls into tadpoles and eating them. Yuck. In a dazed voice, Kagome asked the demon next to her, "Lord Sesshomaru, you don't eat humans, do you?" She wasn't really expecting an answer, just thinking out loud, really. So much for not talking to him.

Sesshomaru just huffed in disgust at thinking someone could accuse him of consuming human flesh. As far as he was concerned, there were very few creatures that walked this planet that smelled as awful as unwashed humans. In truth, their lack of bathing was probably a fairly effective survival technique. Except where demons with a poor sense of smell were involved, or the reptilian type that rivaled humans for stench. It was more likely that he'd eat Jakken than every even consider snacking on a human. And the chances of that were as likely as him hugging and kissing Inuyasha… on the mouth!

Kagome's mind was still on the episode with the frog demon, not even noticing the disgust evident on the face of the demon beside her. Just the memory of that nasty, slimy tongue wrapping around her ankle made her skin crawl. But it also brought a smile to her face to remember poor Nobunaga falling down every cliff in the area. He was truly a mess. Still, that little adventure was one of the first times Inuyasha had shown any compassion for another. He had even indirectly praised Nobunaga for saving the prince's life, even if he was his rival in love.

Her back was starting to feel better, so she thought she'd just read one more entry in her journal. The next one was about the Noh Mask. She shuddered to think about being attacked back in her own era. Before this incident, she had thought her home was a safe haven from demons and magical nonsense.

Her brow furrowed as she remembered the confrontation with the awful conglomerate of body parts that the Noh mask was using. The mask said it had been carved many centuries ago from a tree which had a jewel shard embedded in it. She had thought at the time that other shards could have survived to the present also. But, that didn't make sense. How could there be shards still floating around after centuries, if she had the complete jewel in her body?

She put the journal down and removed the raincoat that she had kept on for warmth. The exertion of digging was warming her up quite nicely. So with a thoughtful frown, she picked up her spoon and returned to scratching at the mountain around her legs. Her mind kept drifting back to the paradox of the present day shards.

She knew that the jewel was whole when it was ripped out of her side by Mistress Centipede. She knew that Mistress Centipede came through the well because she sensed the jewel. So it was logical to assume that the jewel was inside her before Mistress Centipede pulled her down the well. But, then, how could there be a jewel shard in an ancient tree that survived to present day, if the jewel was whole at the same time?

She stopped digging as the realization hit her. She gasped out, "I changed history!" It was the only logical answer. Somehow, before she went back to the past, the jewel was complete. But, after she shattered it, shards turned up. Not only that, but if there were shards in present day, that meant one of two things. Either they never succeeded in gathering all the shards, or somehow, they were scattered again and never all collected. But, if they collected them all and made the jewel whole again, would they change history back to a point where the Noh mask would not exist? Maybe she should go back and find where the tree was that the mask was carved from and remove the shard now, before any trouble could start. Would that reverse history, and bring back to life all those people that the Noh mask had eaten? Would centuries of restored people somehow irreparably change history? But, wait, in the time before she was dragged into the well, wouldn't all those people have lived?

Sesshomaru had noticed the girl making little progress in her digging. Not only was her attempt feeble, but she rested as long as she worked. She would be old and gray before she dug her way out at this rate. As much as he didn't want to, he knew, in the back of his mind, that he would probably have to help her, at some point. He really didn't want to do such a menial thing. But, like many other things about this entrapment, he would do what was necessary.

With that thought, he picked up the block of noodles and gracefully consumed the entire block. Actually, he was licking the crumbs off his claws when the girl stilled and made her exclamation about changing history. He could not help the questioning "Hn?" that slipped out as he was curious what she was talking about now. The last he had known she was wondering about his eating habits. This girl's mind leaped from topic to topic faster than he could run. Was this some byproduct of the abuse of her intellect from the adults who forced her to solve problems? It was quite likely that the girl suffered from some type of brain damage.

Kagome turned her head to the left to look at the resting arm and navy blue legs of her companion. "Lord Sesshomaru?" she said in a very quiet and serious voice, "Would you change the future if you knew you could? I mean, if you knew something bad was going to happen, and you could change it? Would you take the chance?"

Sesshomaru glanced at her face and could see that she was not looking at him, but staring blankly over his legs into the stretching darkness of the far tunnel. What was she talking about now? 'Surely she doesn't think I can predict the future. Is it possible that something that she knows in the future has been changed by her actions in the past?' Sesshomaru commented, "Time has a way of correcting all actions. Anything you change will have unexpected results that might be worse than the bad you were trying to prevent."

Kagome listened and thought about this for a few minutes then craned her neck around to look him in the eyes. To his knowledge, this was the first time he had seen her quite so serious and somber. Her eyes looked ancient as they reflected a deep knowledge and responsibility that seemed to leak out of her very soul. He forgot for a moment that he was facing a girl who was barely out of childhood. She looked like she was grappling with the weight of the world. If what he had learned and read was true, her soul had most likely been reincarnated numerous times, and could possibly be older than he himself.

In her mind, Kagome was pondering not only the problem of the Noh mask and the jewel, but of the very possibility of changing the world as she knew it. In her present day, demons were nothing but legend, the jewel was a myth, and the Noh mask had only been a fancy decoration. But, somehow, she had changed parts of that. The Noh mask was evil and dangerous; the jewel existed in her, and what about demons.

The apparent extinction of demons in her time had always bothered her on a personal level. She wanted, with every fiber of her heart, to know that Shippo, Koga, Inuyasha, Kirara, Shiori, Jinengi, and even stuck up old Sesshomaru had lived happy lives on into her present day. When she was home, she had poured over every history book she could get her hands on, and researched every website that even remotely mentioned ancient demons. Still it seemed something had eradicated demons from the face of Japan several centuries back.

She looked into Sesshomaru's eyes and wondered if he was trustworthy enough to be told what she was thinking. If she gave him all the information she knew, about history, geography, climate, human culture and such, would he work to save the demons from extinction? Or would he use the knowledge for personal gain? Would he help her destroy Naraku to keep him from gaining power in the present day? Because, if she somehow created a way for demons to survive, there was always the possibility that Naraku, or some other demon just like him would do this all over again. Would Sesshomaru help guard against that for all the centuries before reaching her time, and for all the centuries after she was dead?

She chewed mercilessly on her chapped bottom lip and tried to critically assess his character from what she had seen over their past encounters. The whole bit with the un-mother and their father's tomb was just underhanded and despicable. It reeked of a plan Naraku himself would have created. Yet, he had punched Inuyasha for defiling their father's tomb the second time they had battled Naraku there.

He had attacked Inuyasha mercilessly to steal the sword until he discovered the Tetsusaiga prevented Inuyasha's transformations. He had even knocked him out once to reverse a transformation. She had seen him kill opponents with no trouble, yet he couldn't manage to kill one half-breed.

He had tried to kill her on numerous occasions. Then, he had saved her life from the Band of Seven poison master, and from Hakudoshi's attack. He was not consistent.

If she told him important information about the fate of demons, would he abuse that information, or would he use it to prevent their demise? What she was thinking would be the equivalent of a modern day Noah's ark for demons.

He grew uncomfortable with her continued scrutinizing stare while he could see the inner workings of her mind trying to figure something out about him. Finally, he noticed her face change, and he felt that he had been weighed and measured and found lacking. Some part of his pride was insulted, and yet, he could understand her point of view. He never explained himself, so to an outsider, his actions must seem contradictory and chaotic. And somewhere, deep inside him, there was the tiniest part of his conscience that wanted to earn her trust so she could tell him what that was all about. She slowly twisted her body back around and resumed scratching at the dirt around her hips.

The morning passed in relative silence as the girl struggled against the immovable object of the wall of dirt, and the demon lord pondered his interactions with Inuyasha's group and how they must view him. Only the sounds of scraping and heavy breathing could be heard echoing around the chamber. Sesshomaru made sure to keep his attention firmly tuned to both tunnels in case anything else decided to wander by and visit them.

By lunch time Kagome was getting really frustrated. She had made some progress with her serving spoon at dislodging the dirt packed around her hips. At least three more inches had been excavated and she could move just a tiny bit more than she could earlier in the day. What was frustrating was the amount of time it took to carve out such a small victory, and the cramps that kept forming in her waist and arm. Not to mention the strain this was putting on her sprained right wrist. She had tried using her left hand, but could only manage the pain for a few minutes to work on the left side of her body.

In a huff, she slammed the spoon down on the rock and plopped her head back down on her pajama pillow. A good imitation of a growl escaped her lips as she tried to mentally distance herself from her anger. She was managing an inch an hour. At this rate, it was going to take her almost a day and a half of non stop digging. And then there was a damn rock! Several of them to be exact. It took even longer to dig around the stupid rocks and pry them out. It was more like digging through concrete than she had imagined when she likened it to a prison break out movie. She found herself cursing Hakudoshi several times. Stupid kid with delusions of grandeur!

Her muscles were really burning in her waist from bending in the weird position she had to use to dig. Her sense of humor tried to resurface as she imagined herself on a commercial for "Waist of Steel" the newest in the "Buns of Steel"™ line of exercise videos. And to think again that people paid good money to have others force them to do the kinds of exercises that she was doing for free.

She just had to shake this defeatist attitude that kept bugging her and keep going. She wasn't going to just lie around and do the damsel in distress routine. She was a priestess wannabe from the future! She could shoot arrows that purified demons! She was the closest thing to a human superhero that you could get.

She clapped her good hand on the rock and exclaimed, "Enough of a break. Back to work! This dirt isn't going to move itself." And with that, she took up her spoon, in a much better mood. She decided to make it a challenge for herself. She removed her watch and decided how much she was going to get done in the next fifteen minutes. She watched the seconds hand tick its way up to the 12, then started her race against herself.

He vaguely registered the scraping noises of the girl, Kagome, as she attempted to dig herself out. Her noises had almost melted into the background as he scanned the area and continued thinking. It was not like him to become so distracted but he realized he had when the girl's swearing returned him to an awareness of his surroundings.

Sesshomaru noticed several medium sized rocks slowing her progress, and she huffed and would work around them to dislodge them. She kept looking back to a strange piece of jewelry that she had placed beside her on the rock. He listened to her heart rate pick up as she struggled with what was being revealed to be a boulder similar to the size of what had been on her back the other day. Apparently, she had not realized that if she dislodged that large of a boulder, it would fall and crush her hips or legs.

She straightened back out and cradled her face on the clothes below her. She muttered some disparaging remarks about the parentage of the rock, and then twisted in the opposite direction, moving her body towards him to gain access to the dirt mound to her left. He had been forced to return to his seat on the lower rock so that she could reach the dirt to her left, which would have been immediately behind his back had he remained seated next to her.

This twist to the left brought her hair closer to his face, and he could smell the gentle floral scent of her hair laced with perspiration and blood. He felt a pang of guilt that he had not truly taken inventory of her injuries, and realized with a start that blood stiffened the long silky black locks on the crown of her head. So she had taken a pretty severe blow to the head. Maybe that truly did explain her strange comments. He had only been joking before when he had thought that.

He took a deep sniff to determine the severity of her injury. He could smell the old, dried blood in her hair, and the burned, blistered skin on her hand under the fabric. Another faint smell wafted to his sensitive nose that made him frown. Fresh blood and a hint of infection. He had smelled it enough over the centuries of being around human battlefields after the fighting was over. Scores of good soldiers died from the after effects of battle in a most dishonorable manner.

His eyes glared at the shape of the strange girl struggling with her bandaged hand to hold the spoon. He tried to see any place where she was currently bleeding. With as many layers of clothing as she was wearing, no such injury was visible. He addressed her, unsure if he should use her name. "Kagome, your injuries are bleeding. And I smell infection in a wound."

Sesshomaru did not mean to startle the girl, but considering how focused she was on her task, and the fact that he had not addressed her in a while, it was not unexpected when she jumped and squeaked as she whipped her head about to face him. Her eyes were huge and unfocused for a moment as she had to adjust to the closeness of his face. Confusion marred her brow and her mouth was drawn down into a frown.

He sniffed again and realized that the blood was not on her torso, arms or head. It must be her legs that were injured. That would explain why the smell was not as strong as if it were in the same space. He explained, "I can smell fresh blood, and I believe you have an injury on your legs. That would explain your powers not being dormant. While you slept, your powers were trying to heal the injury and prevent the infection that I can smell has set in to the wound."

This complication was not helpful! Kagome looked him in the eyes and seemed to come to the same conclusion. Her eyes and jaw set with determination as she responded. "Well, then I guess I better move this mountain and free myself so I can move away from you and we can both heal. Maybe, Inuyasha will find us before we have to do anything drastic."

Sesshomaru agreed wholeheartedly and gently unwound his Mokomoko-sama to pry gently at the large rock that her spoon had uncovered. He was disgusted at how little he could actually do in his current state. If he was just slightly better, he could have used his sword to gouge the dirt, or his poison whip to disintegrate the rocks. His acid was out as that would eat through the rock and drip down on her. It did no good to free the girl if he killed her with poison. Even his claws would make better progress than the girl was making with her spoon.

But that was not possible at the moment. His body still needed about half a day to heal enough to be useful. With both of them working as best they could, it would be no time before her legs were freed, and they could hopefully move far enough apart that she had no effect on his healing abilities and her powers could work on her own problems. Together, they attacked the dirt trapping her legs.

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This is your friendly neighborhood author service reminding you to support the ego of your favorite authors through generous contributions – a.k.a. review please!

Special thanks to oldestmaiden, Julie5, Solaira, Nameless Little Girl, lildevil0644, jdeppgirl4, Millenium Ring and Whinchester, Miss Kagura, Tearainy, Moonflames – for reviewing chapter 9. I'm glad Sesshomaru's outlook on homework amused several people.

Can I just say, for the record, that I despise math. I have no idea why I needed pre-calculus algebra to become a lawyer. Even though I took the course and earned an "A" I still have no earthly idea what I learned. I hope to never encounter an imaginary number of clients. And square roots…. Who really cares about that in the normal world? My client fee will be straightforward and will never require even rudimentary algebra to calculate!


	10. Chapter 10 Tail of Freedom

Chapter 10

Koga ran through the woods, following an irritating smell that he hated more than anything. It was Naraku's foul scent. In truth, he doubted it was actually his enemy. More likely, the stench came from one of his incarnations. Koga's claws itched to get a hold of that wind-witch to exact his revenge.

The wolf tribes had already been having trouble before so many of their numbers were slaughtered that day in Naraku's castle. The humans were encroaching on their hunting grounds, and killing many of their numbers. Also very few females were being born anymore. His tribe had been mostly bachelor males too young or too weak to take mates. It seemed each generation, the females were fewer and fewer, and those that were born were very weak, and rarely survived into adulthood. That was why it was so very important to have a strong female to head a tribe.

Now, that there were so few able bodied male wolf demons, he wasn't sure about the survival of his species. As much as he teased Kagome about being his woman, he knew he himself was still several centuries away from being mature enough to take a mate and produce cubs. As much as he loved the priestess, he knew that she would be long dead before he could take her to his den. Still, it was funny to annoy Inuyasha with that threat since obviously the half-demon knew nothing about demon maturation and physiology.

In truth, he had made the offer to take Kagome as his mate back before life got serious for him. Back then, life was about the simple things. Having fun and surviving. His only thought had been that she could help them find jewel shards to make them stronger so they could woo strong females. He had thought that as his mate, he could have let some of the older related demons help him sire some cubs. But, that was before he came to really understand how humans worked, and before he had to get serious about leading his tribe. With the danger from Naraku lurking ever nearer each day, he would never even consider bringing cubs into the world, even if he were able. The world was cruel to orphan cubs, and there were too few people like Kagome who would act like a surrogate parent.

Koga stopped a moment to sniff the breeze to determine if he were drawing nearer to his prey. To his disgust, instead of smelling Naraku, he smelled that mutt, Inuyasha. An evil smirk twisted his lips as he thought about stopping by to pay his "rival in love" a visit and get out some of his pent up aggressions. He hadn't had a good scrap in a few days. Besides, it was always wonderful to visit with Kagome, and see her plant the dog-turd into the ground.

With that thought in mind, Koga turned to the West and headed in the direction the prevailing winds indicated he could find Inuyasha and Kagome. His pace reflected his new found joy at having an exciting distraction to look forward to. By the time his pack mates caught up, he would have riled the dog, kissed the girl, and be ready to continue their search.

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Inch by inch Kagome and Sesshomaru worked away at the dirt and rocks from the cave in. The big rock that she had uncovered had not been much of a challenge once he assisted her. He would brace the rock with his Mokomoko-sama until she excavated enough surfaces for him to get a good purchase on the rock. Then he would wrestle the rock from its hole and gently drop it on the far-side of the cave. A few times, the removal of the boulder had created what seemed to be a mini-cave in as the dislodged dirt above the rock cascaded down from the movement. Each time this happened, Sesshomaru was reminded of their precarious predicament. He was also reminded to be gentler. It would do no good to excavate this girl only to have her die in a subsequent cave-in.

As it turned out, the Tenseiga's barrier must have still been around the priestess's body as the rocks and debris settled. It seemed that the barrier had kept the majority of the boulders from crushing her fragile human frame while the dirt had sifted in to fill the intervening spaces. Still, there were enough rocks to slow their progress, and increase their general frustration.

Kagome watched in fascination as the fluffy extension moved back and forth like another arm as he gripped the rocks she exposed and carefully removed them. A shiver raced through her body every time the silky fur would brush against the exposed skin of her legs. It was like being tickled by Buyo's tail. Her imagination ran wild wondering what other things he could do with that talented appendage. She caught herself staring blankly as her mind raced and she shook herself yet again to bring her back to the present.

There was too much to do to spend her time fantasizing about his abilities. Although, she did once read a science fiction book about a race of sexy aliens who could use their tails (minus fur) to….. stimulate… their partners' …..um…. back doors…. during sex. It had been embarrassing to read, but so steamy! Kagome sneaked a look at the demon lord next to her as she wondered when it got so hot in here. Luckily, mind reading was not a trait Sesshomaru possessed; otherwise her blush would have been a lot worse.

The work was slow and boring. Still, with the two of them, they were making better progress than Kagome's average of one inch of excavation an hour. As expected, Kagome tried to fill up the silence with conversation. Sesshomaru decided to amuse himself and returned to his secret interrogation to gain what ever information he could from the girl.

Dig, scratch, dig. "Lord Sesshomaru? How long do demons live?" Sniffle, scratch, dig. Another rock was uncovered.

"As I said before, higher status demons can live several millennia. I myself am over 900 years old. My father was over 3000 years old at his demise." Scuffle, slide, thump. Another rock was tossed to the side.

Dig, scratch, dig, "900 huh? Wow you're really…" She stopped a moment to readjust her grip. He expected her to say something like 'wonderful' or 'amazing' like Rin always did. He was shocked when she continued saying, "old! I would have thought you were about 18 or 19 years old. Of course, I previously thought Inuyasha was about 15 years old. So, what does that make you, middle aged?" Sniffle, dig.

Slide, slide, thump, "Don't be impertinent. This Sesshomaru is still in the beginning stages of adulthood. I have not even reached the age of maturity where I may choose a mate." He withdrew his Mokomoko-sama and turned away from the girl, doing an incredible, although unintended, imitation of Inuyasha's classic pout pose (minus one arm).

Dig, scratch, huff, huff, "So, technically, you should still be alive in 500 years? Damn rocks!" Another rock hampered her progress. She slammed the handle of her digging spoon against the hard surface hoping to dislodge the nuisance without any real work.

He turned just slightly so he could see the next rock that he would need to help with. "Create an edge under the rock I can grasp." Shuffle, slide, grip, thump. "500 years is nothing in the life of a demon. There is little chance of this Sesshomaru encountering a stronger demon in that timeframe. Why are you so fascinated by demon aging?" Sesshomaru secretly congratulated himself for slipping in a question of his own. She seemed inordinately interested in demon life spans. It almost seemed like she was fishing for some particular information to confirm something she already suspected.

Dig, scratch, dig, dump. "I don't know. Some of my best friends are demons, and then there is little Shippo. How can I take care of him if I don't know these things?" Another inch of dirt was removed from the constricting wall. They were almost half way down her thighs. "Can you think of anything that might wipe out a bunch of demons all at once? Something like a demon plague or sickness? Ow, my back. I need a break." Sniffle, blow.

He scoffed at her weakness but also took a break. "Frequent stops will slow your escape from confinement. Demons do not suffer pathetic human illnesses."

Kagome was face down on her covers, breathing heavily as the muscles in her neck, shoulder, side, back and arm burned from overexertion. She wasn't really sure why she kept talking to this arrogant demon, but there was nothing else to do, and she refused to "whistle while she worked." For one thing, she just wasn't feeling all that perky, with the head cold and all. For another, she wasn't all that good at whistling.

She snapped at his answer to her legitimate question, "You don't have to be so rude. I was talking about demon illnesses. I assume that since there are microbes and viruses that attack specialized animals and people, that there might be something similar in demons. I mean, Inuyasha once fixed me a remedy that his mother created for him when he was really sick. I just didn't know if that was from his human side, or his demon side."

Snort "It was most likely from his weak human side." He enjoyed the angry spark in her eyes as she was chastising him for his arrogance. Normally, he would have punished someone like Jakken for answering him in such a manner, but he found these reactions to be quite entertaining since he was so bored.

Kagome was getting tired of always being considered weak. Even Inuyasha said it often, and it was really getting on her nerves. Hadn't she saved his tail a few times? Hadn't she also surprised this arrogant dog demon by breaking his armor, once? "Why do you despise humans so much? Did they do something to you?"

Sesshomaru felt the progress he had made in earning a bit of this girls trust grind to a halt. His hackles rose at her angry question. "Humans are no true challenge to one of my power. Although my father found some redeeming qualities in their existence, this Sesshomaru has yet to discover the same traits. I have only found them to be petty, greedy, evil little creatures that smell horrific."

Kagome bit her tongue to prevent the usual tirade against such disparaging remarks to her kind that prejudice always provoked. For just this once, she tried to see it from his point of view. She guessed if he only ever saw the weak side of humanity, he would be justified in having such a low opinion. Still, it reminded her of a quote she heard from somewhere. "Me thinks thou doth protest too much." Meaning, maybe he only SAID he hated humans because he liked them, but didn't want to? With a thoughtful expression, she resumed her endless toiling in the dirt.

Dig, scrape, scratch, "Evil creatures that smell horrific…Oh, you mean like Jakken? But seriously, if you loathe humans so much, why do you let Rin follow you? And why do you rescue her? I mean, if humans are so contemptible, then why not just let her die?" Kagome purposely didn't look at the demon beside her because she was afraid he would take offense at any comment regarding his relationship with the orphan girl that followed him.

The demon lord stiffened at the audacity of this girl to suggest he allow Rin to die. "Rin follows this Sesshomaru because that is her own choice. I rescue her because she is humorous to have around to annoy Jakken." Which was true, just not the whole truth.

Sniffle, scratch, dig, scrape, "You talk about Rin like she's some stray dog that just started following you around." In her mind, she could see Rin as a puppy. She really could. The girl had the energy of a puppy, and the complete loyalty of a beloved dog. If 'dog was man's best friend', would it work in reverse? Would man be dog's best friend too?

"It is Rin's choice to stay or go." He wrestled another small rock out of her way. In his mind, he was picturing all the times the little girl had chosen to follow him. If she ever found a village or place she would rather stay, he would permit her to remain where she chose. Of course, it would be boring to travel with just Jakken after all this time, but it was her choice.

There was a slight pause in the conversation while Kagome took another short break while Sesshomaru worked to pry out another medium sized rock. There was no point in her staying bent over while he was working. So, it was a good time to breathe and blow her nose.

Shuffle, slide, "Kagome, did you realize that when you commented on my dislike of humans that you referred to the human race as "they"? Do you not consider yourself a member of the human race that I supposedly despise?" He came back to the thought that she was not truly human, or at least, not completely human. She might have started out that way, but the longer he was in her presence, the more he doubted this fact. Even now, three days after their entrapment, without the ability to bathe, she did not reek of the normal stench of average humans.

Dig, dig, pause, "Did I really? Hmmm. I didn't notice. That's kind of weird since I'm proud of being a human. Maybe I was thinking of "them" being the humans of this era. They are a bit different than those in my time." Dig, scrape, scratch.

Sesshomaru wanted to crow at getting her to again distractedly confirm his suspicion that she was from another time. He lived to underhandedly pull information out of people like this. Information was power, and everyone knew he craved true power. She would never survive a real interrogation. She was entirely too trusting, and too easily distractible.

Kagome scratched at the dirt and stones again as another thought formed in her head. It wasn't really a question, more along the lines of just something she had not really thought about in the past. Her voice was quite distant and unlike herself as she stated, "It must be hard… Being a demon and living so long. I never really thought about the fact that demons live so much longer than humans. It would be horrible to love a human and know that they would die so quickly while you lived on without them. From what you've said, that would be like a human loving someone who would only live for one year. That would be tragic."

Kagome's mind wandered to her love for Inuyasha and Shippo, and to Inuyasha's love for Kikyo. Humans were like silly butterflies that only lived for a season, were fun while they lasted, then were gone without a trace. Her nose started to sting as tears began forming on her lower lashes. She had to take a few deep breaths to stop her sadness. Her life would be over like a summer thunderstorm before any of her demon friends even noticed.

Poor Inuyasha would be alone again. He must have only been a small child when his mother died. Then, he developed feelings for Kikyo only to have that torn away from him by Naraku. Now, she wanted to comfort him and love him, but she finally realized that it would just be another tragic loss in his interminably long life. Was it kinder to not get close to him so he wouldn't hurt when she left the world of the living? Was Sesshomaru's way of dealing with the problem wiser? Distance ones self from developing feelings for creatures who were only around for moments?

She wondered about the dog demon beside her who professed to hate all humanity. Had he loved a human long ago and suffered the pain of an early loss? Was that why he guarded his emotions so closely and refused to let people in? To protect himself from future pain?

Some of Kagome's friends' parents were like that about pets. After loving a dog so completely, they didn't want to open up their hearts to another animal, only to suffer the loss again in such a short time. Eri's Mom had loved their little Pekingese so very much, that when the little dog died, it tore her up inside. Kagome had even witnessed some of the grief when they had a little ceremony for the beloved pooch. The mother had lamented that she could not take the place of her faithful companion. There had even been a touching eulogy written by a family monk who had known and loved the little dog well. There had not been a dry eye at the graveside as the stories of the brave little dog were retold.

Kagome stopped digging and placed her head on her folded arms on her bedding. She could feel the hot tears rolling out of her eyes at each blink. The little tracks of tears made it to her high cheekbones, before gravity pulled them to splash on the clothing below her. She made not a sound. This was not the sobbing, racking type of cry, but the inevitable sorrow that welled up and slipped out.

Some of her tears were for poor Shippo. He had already lost both parents and they were demons. What would happen to him if she tried to care for him like a mother? She would become old and die long before he even reached adulthood. Was it fair to let him form such an attachment to her in light of the inevitable sorrow at the end?

Beside her, Sesshomaru was in a confused state of mind. How had they gone from discussing the evils of humans, to Rin traveling with him, to the tragedy of the life expectancy differences between the two species? This girl touched on subjects that he would prefer to leave dormant, and caused his soul to ache.

He knew Rin was human, and all the awful things he was constantly preaching to Inuyasha should be applied to that little human girl. But, for some unexplained reason, she was in a category by herself. She was not human in his mind. She was simply Rin. She had done things no one else had dared do. She was more loyal than his most loyal retainer. Yet, these things were done simply out of admiration, not out of fear or personal gain.

He had faced her mortality many times now. The first time was when he reclaimed the generous girl's soul with the swipe of his sword. The worst was the time that she had looked up at him with her sad little child eyes and asked him to promise not to forget about her when she died. It had shocked him to realize that the little girl was not only aware of her own mortality, but also his longevity. He would live on many lifetimes beyond when she turned to dust and nourished the flowers she so loved.

As the demon smelled the tears leaking from Kagome's eyes, he found he could not reprimand her for her emotions or her break from digging. The prospect of outliving all those she knew could not be a happy thought, even for a short-lived human. Yet, if she was truly not human, as he suspected, this was the future that awaited the girl beside him. Sorrow visited all creatures of any intelligence. In the end, after a sufficient time had passed for her muscles to recover, he simply mentioned, "It is not wise to mourn losses that have not yet occurred."

Kagome gently wiped at the tear tracks on her face, and turned away from Sesshomaru and resumed digging. She made sure not to face him for a while. There was a long stretch of simply digging and removing rocks. Both thought on the recent discussions and pondered each other's answers.

Kagome tried her hardest to redirect her thinking to some other subject while she dug at the soil. "Lord Sesshomaru? I was wondering something about your father. Since he passed on, does that mean he is a ruler in the afterlife? I mean, Sounga is there now, couldn't he possess the sword and take over?" scratch, dig, scrape.

A smile almost broke over the porcelain white of Sesshomaru's face. "Knowing my father, he would most likely enjoy that challenge." He watched the girl's body relax a bit since he was obviously not angered by their previous discussion.

She stopped moving for just a minute as a thought occurred to her. "And talking about Sounga, why didn't you retrieve your arm? I mean, it was right there. All you had to do was fly over and catch it before the rift to Hell closed up." She shifted to her left and switched hands to work on the other side of her legs.

He stiffened a bit at this new question. "My arm was lost due to carelessness on my part. It was a justified loss. A warrior accepts his punishment for errors in battle with honor. Also, overcoming such an obstacle provided a challenge." He didn't want to say it was a sore subject, so he just kept working.

Her voice was almost teasing when she responded, "I wouldn't say it was carelessness. It seemed like Inuyasha surprised you with his strength. You underestimated him." The pride in her voice at her friend's accomplishment was quite evident. Then, she asked in a quieter voice, "If he hadn't injured you, would you really have killed him?" dig, scratch, sniff, scratch.

He switched to his 'don't question my methods' voice as he answered, "The boy never rose to his true potential without being afraid for his life. In actuality, it was when he was defending you, or angry over your treatment that he reached a skill level almost equal to this Sesshomaru."

"So, you were always mean to Inuyasha and attacking him to make him stronger? That seems rather harsh." She couldn't really believe this, so she took a glance at his face to see if he was telling the truth. Of course, with his small range of facial expressions, it was hard to tell. He could be telling the truth, or smelling something really foul.

"It may seem so, but was it not effective? It is difficult to teach the skills necessary to defend ones pack without actually using those skills in combat. One may go through the motions, but if you have something to truly protect, you fight harder." Sesshomaru remembered all his years of training with his own terrible father who would not go easy on him, simply because he was young.

"Something to protect. Now that you mention it, wasn't Tetsusaiga commissioned to protect Inuyasha's mother? And when I pulled it from the pedestal, I was only thinking about protecting Inuyasha from your attack. Then when it transformed for Inuyasha, he had just offered to protect me. So, do you think, that if you had someone to protect that Tetsusaiga would allow you to wield it?" scratch, scratch, dig, scrape.

It was several minutes before he responded to this question. How many days and nights had he wasted coveting that sword and thinking of ways to retrieve it? Could it have been that simple? If his answer to his Father on the beach that last time he had seen him alive had been 'yes I have something to protect' would he have just given him the sword? "It is possible. Father was a full demon and I witnessed him wield the sword with staggering results. I always thought the barrier was just against me personally."

"No, there was that time Menomeru, that giant moth demon, wanted Tetsusaiga to release the seal on his father's powers, but the sword refused him too. But, Shippo has been able to carry the sword, but not make it transform. Too bad we can't use that barrier against Naraku."

"Yes, it would be gratifying to see the filthy half-breed scorched by such a mighty sword." They shared a quiet moment where they were both picturing this satisfying image.

"You don't still want Tetsusaiga anymore do you? I mean, now that you have Tokijin… You wouldn't take Tetsusaiga away from Inuyasha now, would you? It's really not Inuyasha's fault as to who your father chose to give what."

"No, I no longer desire the sword. Although, I would like to see Inuyasha master the sword and use it to its true, awesome power, as father did. It seems a waste to be underutilized."

The light streaming in from the hole in the roof began to fade again. It was getting so dark. "Darn, how can it be night time again?" They had only cleared down to her knees. As Sesshomaru had predicted, they had found a large, ragged gash on her right thigh. She had really twisted around to try and clean and bandage the wound. Again, she wished she had been wearing jeans instead of her school uniform.

In a last ditch effort of desperation, Kagome propped herself up on her hands and knees and put all her muscles behind trying to pull her left leg out of the wall. The dirt held tight for a few minutes, then she felt a slight give, and her foot suddenly popped, and slid out of the leg shaped hole. She had lost her shoe and sock, but the exhilaration of freedom was worth the loss.

A stunning smile broke out on her face as she flexed her aching toes and squatted on her right knee and examined her freed leg. "Alright! One down, one to go." She resumed her position on her hands and knees and put all her weight behind pulling the injured right leg out. Pain swelled and the gash on her thigh burned as she tried again and the dirt would not relinquish its hold. "No! Let go! Come on, I want to move around!" She shrieked at the unrelenting mound of rock.

Sesshomaru carefully wrapped his Mokomoko-sama around the knee of the trapped leg and added his strength to the effort to free her leg. A shriek of pain echoed around the little cave and they both stopped pulling. He released his hold, and moved to work his appendage into the opening that was created by the release of her left leg. He felt around trying to find the impediment. He reached the rock he expected to find and assumed it was pinning her leg just before her heel. With all the strength he had left, he pushed up on the rock and gritted out. "Try again."

Kagome leaned her whole body into pulling on the trapped leg and for a moment he thought she looked like a horse straining against a heavy wagon. Then, her body shot forward as her leg came free, and the momentum sent her tumbling down off the boulder that she had inhabited for days. She hit the floor with a loud "Whoof" as the air fled from her lungs on impact. Still, a brilliant smile covered her whole face. She carefully rolled onto her back and lifted the recently freed leg up to examine it in the fading light.

Her ankle was swollen and purple, and also without a sock or shoe. There was a gash that ran from the top of her calf down to her ankle. The skin above where the sock would have been was covered with minor cuts and scrapes. She sighed. Now she could say for sure that both of her legs still existed, and she was ecstatic that neither leg was crushed, mangled or missing parts. She would be tender for quite a while, but that was a small price to pay for continued mobility. She absently noticed, as she appreciatively ran her hands across her precious legs that she needed to shave them again soon.

Sesshomaru relaxed against his rock and wound his Mokomoko-sama back around his shoulders. He watched the antics of the girl with relief. Although, he would have to wash all the dirt off his fur, it was well worth having freed this girl. Her light spirit reminded him of Rin (or did Rin remind him of Kagome?) and one such as they should not be constrained or injured. They should be free to run and laugh. As he closed his eyes to rest and hopefully recover completely, he wondered how Rin was fairing. He knew she would be fine. She was unstoppable, just like Kagome.

Scooting along on her rump and hands, she shifted around to where she was against the rock where she had lain for days. Fishing, she reached for her flashlight and another little bottle of water. She turned on the light and propped it against a rock so she could work on her legs with both hands. It was a slow process of washing away the dirt and blood, and gently cleaning the wounds. She could not tell which gash Sesshomaru had warned her was becoming infected, so she treated them all as if they were. The antiseptic stung each and every cut and she had to grit her teeth to keep from swearing.

Finally done, she started gathering her belongings up in her bag. Once everything was loosely repacked, she picked up the flashlight and shone it around the cave. Sesshomaru was still seated in the position he had held since their arrival. So, she looked around in the opposite direction to see how far away she could get from him. Over in the area where their light shaft would shine down was a small alcove carved out of the rock. It put her another five feet away from where she had been stuck previously. 'Hmm, would eight feet away be enough to help Sesshomaru heal faster? I sure don't want to go down into either tunnel. Who knows what might pop up.'

She slung her pack over to the small alcove, and struggled to crawl over the rocks between her and her destination. The pebbles dug into her tender knees and hands, but she knew from the size of her ankle there was no way she would be walking any time soon. Her mind was swirling with visions of putting on her soft, flannel pajamas and crawling into her trusty sleeping bag for warmth. She had only used the sleeping bag under her to cushion the rock when she was still trapped, because she had not been able to think clearly enough to think about using it any other way. She felt a twinge of guilt for not offering the luxury to Sesshomaru. He could have used it as a blanket if he didn't want to snuggle down into its downy warmth.

Once in her alcove, she began reforming her little nest of extra clothing. She knew the sleeping bag would keep her warm, but she really wanted to add to the padding under the bag.

Finally, she had changed into her fuzzy flannel pajamas, making sure to click off the flashlight so her roommate could not peek at her in her state of undress. Not that there was much to see. Large portions of her body were still covered in gauze bandages. Still, after spending so much time around Miroku, she just didn't feel right trusting a male to avert his eyes while she undressed. The exposed areas of skin were covered in goose bumps by the time she had changed into her night clothes and slipped into the welcoming sleeping bag.

It had been a long and exhausting day and sleep dragged on her like a drug. But, she had promised herself that she would stay awake as long as possible to give Sesshomaru the best chance for healing so he could dig them out. Surely, he would be fine by tomorrow. After the third time of her eyes fluttering shut, she spoke up into the darkness that was not penetrated by her measly flashlight. "Lord Sesshomaru? Am I far enough away? Can I sleep now?"

The answer was not immediate, but she still waited, knowing that he would answer. They both had a personal stake in his healing. His voice, when it came, sounded much better, and not as raspy. "Hai. Your purification powers are far enough away that my aura is not being affected."

He watched her with eyes that could make out her every movement in the dark. It was only moments after he had confirmed she was far enough away that her breathing evened out and she was sound asleep. He could feel her powers building slightly as her body tried to heal itself, but they stayed wrapped tightly around her. Perhaps she truly had learned some control during their ordeal? With his own body complaining about needing sleep, he quietly spoke into the darkness. "Sleep well, Kagome."

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

As darkness fell at the end of another day without a Sesshomaru sighting, Jakken decided to return to the scene of the battle. Surely, his Lord Sesshomaru would expect such from him, his most loyal servant. It mattered not what the little human brat wanted. They would go.

"But Master Jakken, Lord Sesshomaru always said that if we got separated, that we should stay in one place and allow him to find us!" The girl whined as she complied with the toad's orders and mounted the two-headed dragon.

The toad squawked and began flailing his arms in huge circles. "Be quite you ungrateful wench. Lord Sesshomaru has never taken so long to return to his faithful servant. We must find him to make sure he is in good health. It would be horrible if that evil hanyou found him."

"Master Jakken, you don't think Lord Sesshomaru has been hurt badly, like when Rin found him? Do you Master Jakken?" The girl started to cry thinking of her hero in such dire circumstances.

The flustered miniature demon scrambled up on the beast of burden and shouted, "Oh be quiet and let's be going already! I don't know why Lord Sesshomaru keeps you around. You are so annoying, Rin!" Just as the toad was about to strike the girl with his staff of two heads, another staff, with a gold circle and jingling loops struck the little demon in the back and sent him sailing off the dragon.

As Jakken turned to face his attacker, a grinning white haired half demon and a staff-brandishing monk stood before him. "Oi! Toad! I see that my bastard brother isn't with you. Got any idea where his carcass could be? He's not dead, is he?" The last comment was said with a bit of sarcastic hopefulness.

Jakken could only squawk and stare in shock at the hated enemy of his master. "Why would you want to know where Lord Sesshomaru might be?"

Rin looked around as the fire-cat and the other lady appeared with Shippo. "We haven't seen Lord Sesshomaru since he saved me in the battle." Her eyes searched for her other favorite person and she asked, "Where is Lady Kagome? I wanted to thank her for rescuing me."

Jakken was indignant. "Rin, how can you say that? It was Lord Sesshomaru who saved you. That filthy human priestess only got in his way!"

Inuyasha hauled the annoying diminutive demon up by his robe and shook him in front of his angry face, "That human priestess is the only reason I don't kill you right here. If you know where they are, you better start talking, or the future might be very painful for you."

Rin's eyes welled with tears, "We don't know where Lord Sesshomaru is. Master Jakken said he has never taken this long to heal and return to us. We were just returning to the battlefield to look for him. Do you want to travel with us?"

Miroku tried to be diplomatic as he calmed the girl, "Yes, we will travel with you. We have searched the surrounding area and found no trace of your Lord, or Lady Kagome. It would be unwise to leave you without protection, so I'm sure Inuyasha will help you."

Inuyasha dropped his brother's retainer and grumbled, "Only if I get to ride on the dragon."


	11. Chapter 11 How long the night

AN: This is a milestone. The new story has now stretched past the number of chapters of the old story.

Chapter 11 How long the night

Inuyasha was actually enjoying the view from the two headed dragon as it skimmed along above the trees. They had made the decision to travel through the night, since Kirara and Ah-Uh were still fresh. Jakken had no choice but to concede to the half-demon's demands to ride the beast or risk being left behind. Ah-Uh, on the other hand, protested by blowing smoke at the arrogant red-clad figure. Rin chastised the dragon for being rude, and everyone settled down.

Still, Jakken clung to a sleeping Rin and to the dragon's saddle directly behind Inuyasha. The half dog sneered at the grumbling toad wondering how his half brother could stand having it around. The girl was sweet enough, but that imp was beyond annoying, and could whine like a toddler. Not to mention smelling like a cesspool. Good thing the wind was blowing the other way, or the retainer would be walking.

Still, the idea of his evil brother keeping a "sweet" human girl with him seemed wrong. Wasn't Sesshomaru the one who was always putting down Inuyasha for his humanity? Then, the hypocrite protected and kept one of his own. Inuyasha could tell from the girl's sunny disposition that she was not exposed to the same degrading tirades that Inuyasha had suffered through all his life from the dog demon that he shared blood with.

A loud slap resounded through the sky and Inuyasha looked to his right to find Sango, Miroku and a sleeping Shippo riding astride Kirara. It was a fairly regular occurrence, but still, Inuyasha wondered where the monk's legendary self-control evaporated to when he was within groping distance of Sango.

Miroku had once confessed to him in one of their man-to-man talks (on a night of the new moon) that he truly loved Sango, and would die for her with no regrets. Apparently, the feelings were so overwhelming that the only way he could keep some distance between them was to occasionally ruin the mood when he couldn't contain himself anymore. The way Inuyasha understood it, if he didn't grope her; he would do something even worse, like marry her on the spot, or seduce her. He couldn't do any of that until Naraku was defeated, permanently. He loved her too much to marry her, start a family, then die from his cursed wind tunnel, and leave her to carry on his dreaded legacy. He knew the pain of watching his father consumed by the very thing that made him a threat to Naraku. He would not cause any children of his own to experience that particular loss.

Still, Inuyasha knew, from talking to Kagome, and from observing the group, that Miroku was growing increasingly worried about the fate of his wind tunnel. When Mushin had sewn up the tears in the wind tunnel, he had counseled Inuyasha to hurry and defeat Naraku because Miroku's life expectancy had been shortened drastically from the damage. They either had to defeat that bastard soon, or find some other way to reverse the growth of Miroku's wind tunnel. Kagome had once suggested trying to take Miroku down the well to see if the time traveling properties of the well would affect the curse. He still didn't quite understand what she was thinking, but he'd try anything that might work. Miroku was his 4th ever friend and he, being a possessive half-dog-demon, was not willing to give up anything that he considered his. Family and pack were everything to him.

Still, thinking about the well made his wayward thoughts return to the subject of their current search. Kagome. Just the thought of her name made his stomach clench in worry. Not that he'd admit to worrying. But they all knew. That was the great thing about family and friends; they knew what you were feeling sometimes without you having to say a word. He really needed to find Kagome, and soon.

According to Jakken, this two headed dragon could sometimes sense the location and will of his brother. If that were the case, then Inuyasha was thinking he really needed to look into getting one of his own. Not that Inuyasha went missing that much, but he had to admit, it was much nicer floating along on someone else's power rather than having to jump and run all the time. Maybe he could find a pretty pink dragon that Kagome would like so she would ride it instead of his back.

Actually, he never really minded carrying her. It was nice to have physical contact with a girl. It made him feel warm inside, like when his mother used to put him to sleep in her lap. Usually the only time Kagome refused to ride on his back was when she was holding a grudge against him, or it had to do with Kikyo.

The dog-eared demon sighed heavily and thought, 'Life was so much easier before Kikyo was resurrected.' He knew that his relationship with the older priestess was a source of strife and pain for Kagome, but he was obligated to Kikyo.

Kagome seemed to understand sometimes that the relationship with his first love was more like a marriage. They had lived and worked together, and grown an understanding of each other. They were kindred spirits, neither belonging anywhere, and sorely wishing to just be normal. There had even been vows or a sort exchanged; to become human in exchange for staying with him as his wife; to be his wife in exchange for lifting the burden of protecting the Sacred Jewel.

As much as he selfishly needed Kagome by his side, he could not turn his back on Kikyo. Even if it was only a construct of clay that housed part of her soul. She had died because they had not trusted each other enough to know they were being tricked. It had been his self-appointed duty to protect Kikyo, and he had failed.

True, when Kagome had first revived him, he had been filled with anger at being betrayed by the woman he loved. Still, the longer he stayed by Kagome's side, the more he realized that what he and Kikyo had experienced had been need, not really love. But, by the time he made this discovery, he had already reaffirmed his vow to protect Kikyo and seek vengeance on her behalf against Naraku.

Long nights, he sat in his tree, overlooking camp where Kagome slept, and tried to find a solution to this horrible situation. When he had asked Miroku all those months ago, why he couldn't have both of them, it had been because he still had not understood the human heart. In his mind, Kagome might have been a reincarnation of Kikyo, but at the same time, Kikyo was just a minor part of the wonderfulness of Kagome. Kagome just seemed so much…. more…. than Kikyo had ever been. Kikyo was the dried noodles, but Kagome was the whole, completely cooked bowl of Ramen.

What finally made things clear for him was one time when Kagome was in her time studying for a test. She had forbidden him to follow her because she needed to focus and study. While he was sitting in his favorite tree, he started wondering about how his life would be without Kagome. If, for example, she got stuck on the other side of the well again, or somehow died in an encounter with Naraku's incarnations. The empty, hollow feeling that swarmed over his body was staggering. His throat closed up and he felt like he was choking on his very breath. Tears actually began forming at the corners of his eyes. It was awful. How could he live without his first true friend? Kikyo had befriended him, but it paled compared to Kagome's unconditional friendship.

Then, he thought about Kikyo. When he had found out that she had died the same day she had sealed him to the tree, he had felt almost happy that she had died. Like she deserved it. Later, when he learned the truth, he was mostly sad that he had failed to protect her. Though, he never really felt the aching loss that just thinking about Kagome missing created. Kikyo was a duty, a regret, a painful reminder of failure.

In a way, he was like Miroku. He needed to complete his duty towards Kikyo, which was aiding her, protecting her, and laying her to rest, before he could pursue his true feelings towards Kagome. He only hoped that in the interim, he didn't chase Kagome off, or cause her feelings to change for him. She meant more to him than he could even express. As much as he wanted her by him, he also wanted her to be happy. And, he knew he hurt her more than he ever wanted to. That was why it was such a struggle to let her go back to her time. He really understood how much her life there meant to her, as much as collecting the shards meant to him, but, the thought of her staying in that time after the shards were collected, tore his heart apart.

Sometimes, late at night, when his thoughts ran deep, he imagined the future after Naraku's defeat. She was always present in his imaginings. And he was never a full demon. As much as he had always wanted to be a full demon, so he would be strong enough that no one would pick on him, and he'd have a place to belong, he just couldn't see doing something like that that would make Kagome unhappy. In some of his wonderings, he imagined what it would be like to go live in her time. Sure, there was a lot he would have to learn, but it would be exciting. He realized he might be able to live there during the whole debacle with the dried demons and the event at her school. No one looked at him funny, or called him names. He had done his part to help the whole event be a success, even if he had blasted a huge hole in the auditorium. And the funniest thing was, Kagome had shown him pictures of humans that changed their appearance so that they looked like demons. There were apparently entire groups that would dress up and get together and pretend to live the life he had.

In the very deepest recesses of his mind, he wondered, "If humans can change their appearance to look like demons, can demons change their appearance to look like humans?" She had explained that it took something called "surgery" for some of the changes. Surgery was something where they could cut and move parts of the human skin to make the face look different. He wondered if there was some way to alter his puppy ears. It wouldn't take much. If they were just a little smaller, they would hide well under his fluffy hair. How wonderful would it be to look human and still have the attributes of a half demon? He could fit in anywhere and still have the strength that the demons were coming to respect. Still he would never admit to this little daydream.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

Sesshomaru sat in the dim cave and listened to the girl breathe. There was nothing else in this barren hole to attract his attention, so she would have to do for amusement. In an abstract way, he wondered how long humans could sleep. Rin slept like a demon, which was just the bare minimum. He had trekked past Inuyasha's camp some nights and noticed that even the half demon would be in a light sleep, while his companions were dead to the world. This girl, in particular, slept like there was nothing to worry about. Did she sleep that deeply, or did she just trust Inuyasha that much?

He had experienced her sleep in the past few days, and none of it was this deep. She seemed to be so far asleep that her body lay lifeless. Then, at times, she moved and twitched like a puppy dreaming of running. It was quite amusing.

Her purification powers were also reacting differently then they had even the night before. Most of the time they were pulled in tight to her body as if she subconsciously believed that he was still only an arms length away from her, and it would hurt him. Then other times, it lashed around like lightning searching for a place to strike.

Most of the night had elapsed with him observing the sleep patterns of one human woman when something seemed to change. Her movements became erratic and sharp and she started producing whimpering sounds. Sesshomaru was familiar with this phenomenon. Just like Rin, this woman was having a nightmare. But, this seemed more than what Rin usually experienced. Rin made noises, but never spoke actual words. Kagome was beginning to talk.

And her powers were acting peculiarly also. Instead of the steady white that her aura projected, he was detecting a strange gray floating about like a mist in her aura. The smooth edges of her presence were now jagged and flaring wildly. She seemed to be in true distress.

Not knowing what else to do, and loathe to have her powers lash out in a large blast against him, Sesshomaru got up and moved closer to observe. Luckily, he had healed almost completely so that he was once again mobile. Nothing had felt so good in recent memory as being able to rise to his own feet without screaming pain lancing through his nervous system.

He moved closer to the thrashing Kagome and wondered what was happening. Was she under attack by some unseen force? He had heard rumors of demons that could turn almost invisible when they hunted, except for their scent. Surely, there was no way such a creature could have stalked them to this depth without his awareness.

He recognized words like Naraku, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Shippo and negatives like "no," "don't" and "leave them alone." Was she reliving some past battle? Or did she have the gift of foresight and was seeing a vision of a future battle. Either way, dreaming of battles did not seem to be the subject matter that a human girl would dream of. Unless he were discussing the demon slayer that traveled with Kagome.

He was not sure how, but he could sense that there was something going on in her body. Between her aura, her scent, his hearing and his sight, it felt like he could actually see her inner workings. There seemed to be a gray presence invading her body from the deep gash on her right thigh, and her right calf. He knelt closer and it was as if he could actually see the invader on a microscopic level. The smell was disgusting and familiar. The infection that he had detected earlier was worsening.

Confusion clouded his face as he could not understand why her flaring purification powers were not eradicating this threat. That had been his theory as to why her powers had buffeted him in their first days down here. Was it possible that he was wrong? What other reason could there have been?

As he watched, he could actually see her body launch a counter offensive of some type against this enemy. It was not power driven, but biological in nature. There seemed to be specialized parts of her body that were attacking like guard dogs. This astounded him. He had never been close enough to a human to witness anything this remarkable.

His senses also told him that the girl's overall body temperature had risen dramatically. Was this another part of her defenses? Raise the temperature to kill off the invading force? What a smart strategy. Make it uncomfortable for the enemy so they will retreat. This was almost brilliant battle strategy. Who knew human bodies could be so resourceful?

Then a strange smell reached his nose. It smelled like his poison, but was a slightly different type of toxin. His eyes widened in shock. Was the girl a poison carrier like himself? That was impossible. Humans were easily damaged by poison. There is no way she could house such a vile poison. But, then again, his mind replayed the scene in his father's tomb, where this same girl had survived, unharmed, full body contact with his most virulent poison. He had assumed the sword had protected her. Was it possible that she was not affected because she harbored poison in her body? Had she not also fought off the affects of that Mukotsu's poison from the Band of Seven before he arrived to dispatch the villain?

He inched forward and crouched beside Kagome. He had to investigate this further. If she could wield poison, this was something he needed to be aware of. Could this be a new development in humans? Again he found himself asking, "What is she?"

He sniffed closer and closer. His nose was almost touching the hot, angry skin of her thigh when he discovered what was occurring. It was not the girl producing the toxin, but it was this invading organism. He thought for a moment. That would make sense. Soldiers who developed such a sickness in their injuries, almost always died from them. If it was creating a toxin such as this, that would explain a great deal.

He stood in alarm. Her body's defenses might be able to attack the invader, but could her body withstand the toxin that it was creating? He rather doubted that. He found himself wondering what he could do. He couldn't just let such a fascinating creature die before he knew exactly what she was. There were so few things that really caught his attention, and even fewer things that were such an enjoyable puzzle.

If his own poison was similar, could he use his control of his own poison to withdraw the toxins that were slowly killing her? There was a good possibility that it would work. But he did not know how it would affect her. Would her powers lash out at him in her sleeping state?

If her powers were not attacking the organism because it was not demonic, could he inject a bit of his own poison to eradicate the invader, then have her powers neutralize it? There was a risk inherent to this tactic that she might be too weak to counter his poison, then he would be, in effect, killing her himself.

Possibly, he could simply wake her and see if she had something in her bag that would solve this problem. He truly doubted that she possessed such a remedy, otherwise she would have already used it.

He watched as sweat began rolling off her scrunched up forehead and wondered if this was painful. Surely, a toxin so similar to his poison would cause incredible pain. His own virulent poison would eat away her very bones and tissue. Not to mention the raising of her body temperature. It was time to wake her and see what could be done.

After several attempts to wake her by calling her name and other names that would normally enrage her (from what he had seen of her interactions with Inuyasha) Sesshomaru resigned himself to having to touch her. He thought it best to risk using Mokomoko-sama since he had just recently regained the use of his only arm, and did not want to jeopardize his recovery.

With a firm grasp on her shoulder, he used Mokomoko-sama to shake her gently at first, then with increased vigor. Before he reached the level of shaking that would equal a small earthquake, the girl's eyes opened with a start. He knew her inferior eyes could not see in this low light level, so he called up a weakened version of his poison to his claws to produce a green glow.

When the girl's eyes landed on his green glowing hand she let out the longest, loudest shriek the demon lord had ever experienced in his long life. With a speed and strength he did not know she possessed, Kagome launched herself up and out of her sleeping bag in a panicked scramble to escape his perceived threat. She landed nearly five feet away from her starting point and sprinted down the tunnel into the complete dark, ignoring her injuries and ankle.

Sesshomaru could hear her babbling about not wanting to be melted, other cries and even apologies as he realized that in her sleepy mind, his glowing hand had indicated an attack that she had witnessed up close and personal on numerous occasions. A slight feeling of guilt settled between his shoulders as he watched the receding form of Kagome as she stumbled in what to her was complete darkness.

He moved over to her bag, and rummaged through its contents. It was obvious that he could not use his hand as a light source, unless he wanted her to run away from him until she collapsed. He had to find that strange flameless torch she had shown him the last night. When he retrieved the strange object, he sniffed around until he found where her smell from touching was the strongest. He worked at that spot until he heard a click, and a strong beam of light shone from the end. Pride at his accomplishment completely overrode any guilt he might have felt as he strode off after the crying, stumbling girl. He had to remind himself that he was trying to help her because he was loathe to let such a unique creature succumb to a simple sickness.

Kagome was not truly sure what was going on. All that she knew was that she hurt all over, and she woke from a nightmare to find Sesshomaru poised to kill her. Fear overrode her reasoning mind that tried to raise the point that Sesshomaru had helped her for the past two days, and would have no reason to kill her. But, the feverish, panicked part of her mind was screaming that maybe he wanted to kill her for the simple reason that she had touched his fluff, or maybe just because she had seen him in sweatpants. Her mind went on to shout that maybe he really could read minds, and he was getting her back for all the weird things she had thought about him. She didn't know. All she knew is he was poised to kill her, and she had to get away.

Two seconds into her flight down the tunnel, all light vanished. She tripped and stumbled as she groped with her hands in front of her, trying to find some guidance. Her mind supplied images of the demon lord in his true form, foaming at the mouth to devour her. It urged her on against her rising fear of the dark.

Not once did the pain in her limbs and injuries break through the intense panic. Though, her erratic movement had reopened the gashes on her right thigh and calf. Finally, her legs gave out and she found herself crawling away. In truth, she made much better time crawling than she had been hobbling unsurely in the dark. At least on her hands and knees, she didn't have as far to fall if she tripped on some unseen impediment. The mantra that raged in her mind was simple, "Gotta get away. Gotta get away. Gotta get away."

Then, she saw and almost felt the light click on behind her then shine on her form in the tunnel. Her shadow stretched into a long grotesque figure before her that twisted into something evil in her feverish mind. This alone caused her to freeze up in conflicting terror. Threat behind her and threat in front of her.

Sesshomaru was shocked to see how far the determined, injured priestess had progressed down the tunnel while he had retrieved the torch. With as badly damaged as her legs were, he doubted she could have gotten three paces away from her sleeping area. He stalked up behind her on silent feet and carefully pulled in his aura as far as he possibly could. The last thing he wanted was for her senses to alert her to a demonic presence behind her and send her scampering off in a panic again.

When he was a single pace behind her, he moved carefully to her side and knelt to observe her face. Sweat still covered her, but she was as white as her aura. Her eyes were fixed on the floor and unseeing. With utmost care, he unwound his Mokomoko-sama and extended it towards her so it was in her peripheral vision. He had noticed her watching it with barely concealed fascination over the last few days, and hoped that it would jar her out of this panic.

Kagome was not even in her own body at the moment. Her mind was somewhere else, cowering in a delirious corner. It was as if, her body had accepted her imminent death, and expelled her soul already. Then, her hand was tickled by the softest fur she had felt before. A glowing, white object moved invitingly towards her face, and worked its way up her arm. Recognition registered in her mind and reflected in her eyes. Mokomoko-sama was touching her. She almost purred at the luxurious feel of the extension's fur. Oh, how she wished she had one of those to keep on her shoulder and pet when ever she wanted. Maybe, if she asked really nicely, Sesshomaru would make one for her.

Then, like a switch, her mind realized that if Mokomoko-sama was here, then Sesshomaru was here. But unlike a moment before, she did not see any poisonous green glow on his hand, or murderous intent on his face. If anything, his face reflected a genuine show of concern.

Wow. This rocked her back on her heels. Instead of remaining in a crawling position, she sat down on her butt… hard. She turned her face totally towards him and cocked her head in confusion like a true dog. Her tiny, child-like voice barely reached his superior ears, "Lord Sesshomaru, what's going on?"

Sesshomaru exhaled the breath he had been holding in anticipation of her next erratic move. He was relieved when reason seemed to return to her doe shaped eyes. He carefully wrapped Mokomoko-sama around her shoulders and chest and gently lifted her to a standing position, being careful to support almost all of her weight to keep it off her ankle. His voice was deep and calming, "Kagome, your injuries are infected, and you were feverish. When I attempted to wake you, you perceived my glowing hand as a threat. It was not my intention to frighten you." And with that, he walked/carried her back to her sleeping area, making sure to use the torch to illuminate the path for her.

When he had her laying back on her futon, he explained what he had observed about her body's reaction to the invading force, and questioned why her purification had no effect on it. She confirmed his thought that it was not demonic, so not affected. He explained his thoughts about trying to control the toxin, and introduce a bit of his own poison to kill the infection before she purified it.

Kagome's eyes were a bit unfocused as she listened. All she could think of was that this demon had sat and looked at her and come up with ways to help her. Shouldn't he just be walking away and leaving her to fend for herself. But, she did appreciate his concern. It was just strange to think that he HAD any concern.

"Um, I think you could try the part where you tried to control the toxin. I wouldn't really like to have you poison me. I… um… don't think… I'd like to see your… poison again, that is, if I can help it." She swallowed her fear and decided to trust his abilities. I mean, he did say he could control almost any type of poison.

Sesshomaru handed the torch to the girl and began to move his hand over the worst of the wounds, her thigh. He used Mokomoko-sama to comfort the girl, as well as hold her in place in the event she began thrashing about. When the green glow became visible again on his fingertips, he felt Kagome tense up. But to his utmost relief, she did not attempt a second escape.

Within minutes, he could feel the toxins from the infection receding from her body and pooling at the injury site. Thick, dark blood oozed from her thigh, and she emitted a pained moan. Tuning in his senses like they had been before he woke her, he could almost see his power pulling back the advancing network of sickness that had spread throughout her body. He was aware he had to be careful, not to allow too much blood to be spilled as it carried the toxins out of her. Still, he could not stop too soon, or the sickness would simply regain ground that had been liberated. He truly felt like a general on a battlefield. The result of defeat was death, and the benefit of victory was freedom. The only exception was that the battlefield was her body. And all those who knew of Sesshomaru, knew he was a brilliant, ruthless strategist who did not admit defeat.

Finally, after an eternity of discomfort and sickening odor, he was finished. He was proud of his accomplishment in eradicating not only the toxin, but also the invading sickness. Still, he hoped to never have to repeat such a procedure on another living being ever again, demon, human or otherwise. He looked at her pale and drawn face and allowed Mokomoko-sama to gently replace her in her previous sleeping position.

She smiled the tiniest smile he had ever seen on another, that looked remarkably like some he himself used. With a gently nuzzle into the fur of Mokomoko-sama she spoke, "Thank you Lord Sesshomaru. I know you didn't have to do that and I appreciate that you would bother to help someone such as me." Her little hands gently petted the fur beneath her cheek and he watched her eyes close in exhaustion and the lingering effects of her sickness. Her words slurred as sleep claimed her, "I wish I could have a Mokomoko-sama. You're lucky. It's so soft. I'd pet it all day long." And with a sigh, she was still.

Sesshomaru almost laughed at her desire to have a Mokomoko-sama. Well why not. He had personally witnessed this woman accomplish feats that were impossible for a human to perform. Maybe she could find a way to channel her powers into a similar object. Who knew, maybe, some day, he would help her try such an experiment.

Then he realized that she had fallen asleep with it still wrapped around her shoulders. Which meant she was laying on it. For a moment, he looked at her with a stern expression. How dare she fall asleep on HIS Mokomoko-sama. Then his expression softened as he realized, that at that moment, he really didn't care that much. She was safe, and would soon be well. Her sleep would be deep and restful. So, with a shrug, he simply rested his frame against the wall of her little alcove, and sat down beside her to watch her sleep some more. In the morning, he would ask her about how a human's body repels such invaders as he had seen, and then they would begin to explore ways out of this dank cave.

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO


	12. Chapter 12 Perspective in the dark

Chapter 12

Some part of Sesshomaru understood that Kagome needed to rest and recover from her injuries that had been neglected for the benefit of his own healing. Still, the larger part of him, the restless wandering part, wanted to get up and get out of this god-forsaken cave. "How do demons live underground? It is disgusting, not to mention terribly boring." How low he had fallen to be talking to himself. He simply shook his head in thought and turned to the sleeping girl.

She had not been motionless in her sleep, as he had expected. His experiences with Rin had led him to believe that when a human was exhausted, they lay like the dead while sleeping. After watching her thrash about, he had to reevaluate that opinion and consider narrowing its application to only Rin, or at least, small children. Not that he had any experiences with any children other than Rin. Though, he had seen Kagome's fox kit sleeping with her on occasion and had not noticed this same restlessness.

Whatever the reason, every time she shifted in her sleep, he managed to work his Mokomoko-sama out from under her a bit at a time. Patience had always been a useful tool in warfare, and it currently served him well in dealing with human girls who latched onto his fur!

Yes, he would definitely have to look into getting this girl her own Mokomoko-sama. Maybe if he could manage that for her, he could produce a similar extension for Rin. She was also inordinately fascinated with the length of fur. Possibly this fur fetish was a universal trait among female humans? Perhaps, a nice length of rabbit fur would suffice? In his pondering, he wondered if there were any other female traits that the two shared. Did Kagome share Rin's love for flowers and torturing Jakken? His mind wandered back to a time when he witnessed Kagome stomping Jakken with all her might, then stealing his staff of two heads from him and pounding him with it. An evil smile crossed the demon lord's face as he relived that particularly tasty memory.

While he was waiting for the next shift of the human beside him, he thought about investigating the writings of her adventures again. It could do no harm to look through the papers as the girl slept unaware. Also, it would repay her inconsiderate entrapment of his Mokomoko-sama. If she was going to force him to be stationary, she could at least entertain him. It wasn't like she was even awake to answer any of his curious questions. He barely turned his head as he spied the colorful cover from the corner of his eye, and reached over with his now healed arm.

He had left off reading about the subjugation spell and Inuyasha's attempts on Kagome's life. It still shocked him to read this girl's impressions of his brother. Never in his many years of living had he thought Inuyasha capable of such brutality. Still, this was her thoughts without begin tainted by knowledge of the boy's history. And from what she wrote, this was her first encounter with demons of any type, so she was not already prejudiced against his kind.

Next, he was reading about how awful she felt for bringing such a dangerous item back into existence and how guilty she felt that the villagers thought she was the dead priestess Kikyo. He smirked to himself, "Of course, that was before she knew what Kikyo was truly like." But it did register in his mind that she had been dealing with everyone comparing her to her former incarnation since the very beginning of her time in this era.

He read about the sorrow caused by her absence from her family and her desire to return somehow. He wondered, "Had she truly never thought to retrace her steps to where she entered this world?" But after reading more, he realized that she barely had a second to stop and breath, not to mention think. In that one page alone, she was kidnapped and almost slaughtered by bandits. Then there was a demon crow stealing the jewel. And at the bottom of the page, in unusually small writing, was the account of the shattering of the dreaded jewel. In his mind he understood that the tiny script indicated her embarrassment and shame at being the cause of the splintering of the Shikon jewel.

He turned the page to another entry and almost laughed at the huge letters proclaiming to the world that "INUYASHA IS A PERVERTED PEEPING TOM!" He could almost feel the outrage of the girl as she recounted the story of bathing in a freezing stream, only to discover that Inuyasha had been watching her with a keen interest. She ranted about him trying to justify his actions because he was "looking for a chance to steal the shard." But she had her own ideas as to what he was doing.

This was a side of his brother that he had never known. His smirk twitched slightly as he wondered if Inuyasha had developed a curiosity about the opposite sex at such a young age. But then the demon frowned as he remembered the unfortunate incident with the former priestess Kikyo. Had Inuyasha truly loved the hateful woman before she died? How could he? Inuyasha was barely more than a child. Maybe he could gain a new insight into the workings of his brother's mind through this girl.

The next entry chronicled an encounter with a hair demoness. The situation began with Inuyasha and Kagome having an argument about Kikyo's likeness, and ended up with the girl involuntarily being thrust back into the well. Sesshomaru tried to remember if he had ever crossed paths with this particular demoness. Kagome's description of her was laughable. For Kagome, who wore such ridiculously short skirts, to complain about the scantily clad demoness, was humorous.

Kagome's entry was upset and shocked that Inuyasha came through the well to her time and brought the hair from the demoness with him. Sesshomaru's mind stopped at that thought. "Could demons be carried through the well with one of these two?" He continued reading, storing this thought away for future contemplation.

Amid all the action and ranting about how rude Inuyasha was, there was a more somber entry. It seemed that his little brother could be chivalrous after all. The boy had offered Kagome his over kimono as protection before they returned to face the demoness. This seemed more in character with the little brother that Sesshomaru had known and he thought, "How very much like something Father would have done."

Kagome wrote about her shock and revulsion seeing Inuyasha injured so severely. This was obviously her first experience with demon physiology. Still, she had helped him, and ended up saving the boy with her persistence and bravery. Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder at the slumbering girl. "Who would have thought?" The girl shifted again, and he extricated his Mokomoko-sama a little bit more before she returned her fingers to grasp the fine hairs.

He turned a page to read how Myoga, the flea demon, and retainer to Inuyasha, had found them in the old priestess's hut. It seemed that was the first time Kagome realized that Inuyasha was part dog demon. "How odd that she could not tell on her own. But then, she had never even seen a living demon." Though, the girl did seem to think it funny that a dog would prefer to sleep in a tree like a cat. The comparison rankled Sesshomaru's fur, but he decided not to take offense, this one time. Besides, it did look rather feline when he witnessed Inuyasha's affinity for trees.

Sesshomaru's fading attention perked up when he read his own name on the next entry. "We met Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru, today." He had been reading this half in an attempt at amusement, and half in an effort to better understand his brother. Now, he was faced with the possibility of reading about how this human girl perceived he himself. He stopped a minute and thought about this. Was it worth reading? Should he stop and remain oblivious? Unfortunately, a common trait of all dog demons was their innate curiosity. He knew that once he started reading, he would not be able to stop. So, he read on.

It was disheartening to read how horrible Kagome thought he was. He had known that Jakken's plan to use the un-mother was underhanded, but with the way this girl sympathized with everyone and everything, it was even worse. Even though that thing had not been Inuyasha's true mother, the likeness was enough to cause pain to his brother and to Kagome. She told the story of fighting to save the boy, and how she rescued him by attacking Jakken and the false image in the water.

Sesshomaru had not known what had transpired in the illusion world, but was not truly surprised that her intelligence and persistence had again saved Inuyasha. But then Sesshomaru's pride took another hit as he read about his own actions towards the un-mother from Kagome's point of view. That vile creature had no hesitation about absorbing Inuyasha, so Sesshomaru had not really had any second thoughts about its demise. It was not his fault that the foul creature had intervened and taken a hit that would have only incapacitated Inuyasha, but instead fatally injured the creature. When he had crushed the decapitated head under his boot, it had been an act of mercy in his mind.

Not so for Kagome. What he read was that he had murdered a sad, wretched creature that should have been pitied for all the suffering it had experienced. In Kagome's mind it was akin to having slain Inuyasha's true mother. The very reason she had followed Inuyasha into their father's tomb was to exact revenge against Sesshomaru for his atrocities.

Sesshomaru squared his shoulders in defiance and thought to himself, "It matters not what a human girl thinks. This Sesshomaru will do what this Sesshomaru must do." Still, in the tiniest part of his soul, that he refused to recognize, there lingered just the slightest disappointment that she would think so poorly of him. Still, no one knew of his inner motivations or the oaths he had made in his lifetime. Though, this helped explain the look she had given him a few days before when he had felt like he had been weighed and measured and found lacking. Her first impression of him was quite dismal.

Then, he almost groaned as he read what came next. The fight in the tomb. He had repeatedly "tried to kill" Inuyasha in her perspective. Then he had tried to kill her after she withdrew the sword from the stone. In the words reflected on the page, it was obvious to Sesshomaru that she had been scared half to death when he had turned his attention to her. "Strange that she had acted so brave."

Sesshomaru remembered the interaction quite clearly. It was the first time in a long time that he had been faced with such a puzzle. In truth, he had sprayed his poison at her in an attempt to determine what she was. If she had enough power to remove the sword when neither brother could, she should have been even more powerful then they. It had shocked him when she did not evade his attack. He had not even used his demonic speed. She had just stood there like a frightened deer, then she was gone. It had taken him a moment to reorient his mind to the new details that she HAD only been a mortal.

Then the second deep puzzle of the day had occurred. Inuyasha had gotten angry, and faster. That very fact was what determined the method of training he would use in their future sparring matches. Anger made the boy stronger. Still, in his overconfidence, Sesshomaru had to admit he got careless when Inuyasha finally managed to wield the Tetsusaiga. The phantom pain from his missing left arm returned to taunt him as he sat in the dark cave.

After reading about this phase of Kagome's adventures, Sesshomaru truthfully did not feel like reading any further. He closed the book and his eyes as he replayed those events in his mind. With this new insight, he could see how his actions could be misinterpreted. How had he not seen this before? Was it possible that the animosity Inuyasha displayed every time they crossed paths was true revulsion, and not just sparring taunts? Had their sibling rivalry devolved into true hatred? That would explain the puzzle about Inuyasha suddenly being able to strike him after Kagome's supposed "demise" in the tomb. Inuyasha had truly been trying to kill him. Sesshomaru replayed the final moment that he could recall from the battle in the tomb when Inuyasha had already removed his arm. Inuyasha leaped up with a look in his eyes that said this was for real, and had called out, "goodbye… brother" with such venom in the last word. Then, Inuyasha had swung a killing blow to Sesshomaru's chest which was only avoided by the demon's swift reflexes to pull back. Still, the hit to the chest had injured him gravely, along with the missing limb. Reading this new perspective gave him quite a lot to think about as he waited for daylight.

About the time the sun was rising in the outside world, he had freed his Mokomoko-sama from the girl's clutches. He was terribly thankful that she had not drooled on it, as he had feared she might. That would have simply been unacceptable, and might have resulted in decapitation. His prized fur was already filthy from digging, and would take a long soak to remove all the ground in soil, not to mention the human smell. With perfect stealth and calm, he returned the bound scroll to its former resting place.

Free at last, the great demon stood and stretched every part of his weary body. Then he moved carefully to the entrance of the tunnel to their left. He sniffed deeply and could still smell fresh air from that direction. So, to not damage their air supply, Sesshomaru turned and walked into the tunnel on the right.

At varying intervals, he summoned his cloud and hovered up to the roof of the tunnel. With his superior eyesight, he could see as well as day. He was investigating the composition of the rock holding up the tunnel. The last thing he needed to do was create a massive chain reaction cave in. He had not survived this long by acting rashly. Sure, he could revert to his true form, but if he brought down the roof while escaping, Kagome would be crushed. There was also the added problem of only having three legs to stand on. It made maneuvering difficult but not impossible. He had thought about just grabbing the girl with his mouth, but he didn't think she could handle another exposure to his poison drool.

So, his main thought for escape was to find a section of tunnel with either a natural fissure to the above world, or stable rock formations that would not collapse if he blasted a large hole through them. When he found a suitable section of rock, he lowered himself back to the tunnel floor and removed Tokijin. Although his powers were not totally replenished, since his body was still working diligently to repair itself, he thought he had enough to attempt a small flare. With the usual sting of evil that always tried to assault him from the wicked blade, Sesshomaru held out the sword and directed a portion of his strength through the blade. A large blue bolt of lightning charged around the katana, then soared into the ceiling of the tunnel.

An enormous boom shook the ground beneath her as Kagome jolted awake in a panic. Her sleep muddled mind tried to process the sound into the many possibilities that she could imagine. Attack, earthquake, thunder, another mole, dinosaur like Jurassic Park, sonic boom, Inuyasha being sat…

Dust and debris began drifting out of the tunnel to her right, filling the barely lit cave with floating particles. Waving her hands frantically in front of her face to clear the air she began to cough as she wondered what in the world was going on. It was then that she noticed her "cellmate" was missing. She felt a chill race up her spine as she wondered if something had happened to Sesshomaru. Maybe there were other things creeping around down here other than helpless demon moles.

Coughing at the added particles in the air, Kagome was stalled a moment before she rose to search for her companion. In that moment, the white haired demon emerged from the dirt spewing tunnel to look around with disgust. He didn't look directly at her as he commented, "The tunnel is collapsed in this direction." Her look of shocked realization was hard to miss, even though he tried to look elsewhere to maintain his air of dignity.

He turned to Kagome and motioned, "Tend your injuries. I shall return shortly." And with that he vanished down the left tunnel. As her mind finally caught up with current events she yelled after him, "Don't collapse that one too! I'd like to get out of here today." She thought she heard a growl echo through the darkness, but it was so quiet, she couldn't swear she heard anything.

Left alone in the slightly illuminated cave, Kagome huffed to herself about "Stupid dogs and their need to bury things!" She surely didn't want to be one of those things buried, especially after she had worked so hard to UN-bury herself. She needed to go home and take her make-up test. There was only so much the school was willing to bend the rules for her and her mystery "illnesses." She would be taking four tests at once if she didn't get back soon.

With that in mind, Kagome clicked on her flashlight to take a good look at her injured thigh and calf. What she found made her a bit queasy. Both gashes were red and inflamed. It seemed that Sesshomaru's attempts to eradicate the infection had only been partially successful. He had pulled back the invading sickness, but it was still present at the wound sights. And it smelled bad too. She could only imagine how much worse that smell was to a sensitive nose.

"Well, this first aid kit is getting quite a workout this trip. I'll have to restock when I go home. I sure hope we don't run into any more situations where it's needed." The white plastic box with the red cross on it had really taken a beating over the past months of traveling. The plastic was all scratched and dull, and the handle looked like it was about to pull off. Still, she couldn't complain. It contained everything she could need for most Feudal era emergencies. She wondered, "Does this mean I'm the first real paramedic?" Kaede had been amazed the first time she looked into the little kit and read the accompanying first aid booklet.

So, without any further deliberation, she began removing gauze, tape, ointment and salt. She almost laughed when she remembered her mother's face when Kagome had requested the large container of table salt for her first aid supplies. But, Kaede had mentioned it, and Kagome had researched it on the internet. It seemed that salt was good at drawing out an infection even in the modern era.

So, just like last night, she carefully cleaned, treated and wrapped all the larger cuts and gashes on her poor legs, hoping they wouldn't leave scars. "How would I explain THAT in gym class? 'Yes, I was attacked by a feral cat while I was convalescing with TB.' Or whatever other illness her grandfather had uncovered. By now it was a wonder that her friends didn't think she was a hypochondriac.

Once all those wounds were treated, she wondered what exactly to do about her ankle. It was the size of a softball and she was sure it would not support her weight. Since she only had one Ace™ bandage, she unwound it from her right wrist, and began securing it to her ankle. She criss-crossed it around her instep, then ankle, then leg, then back down to her ankle, and back around her instep. With every pass, the tightening pressure made the deep ache a bit worse. But she knew, this was the only way she could manage to walk. "Okay, more like hobble."

Before she was completely done with the length of stretchy bandage, she thought about splinting the joint with her math notebook. It might be overkill, but the idea made sense to her groggy mind. So she moved the abused book into place, and wound it into the mess that was her ankle.

She put everything back into her back pack, and started unmaking her little clothing nest. There was no way she would wear any of those clothes before she washed them, but she still packed them neatly into the canvas monstrosity. She had every intention of leaving this miserable little cave (that used to have two exits) as soon as possible. Which probably meant, as soon as that annoying demon came back from wherever he wandered off to.

"I wonder what he's doing? I mean, why would he collapse one of the tunnels? Maybe he didn't mean to. Still, he could have just waited for me to pack up." Then her mind supplied an image that she didn't want to contemplate. "What if he had to take care of 'doggy' business? He needed to 'go outside.' " She had noticed that she really needed to use the bushes herself, since waking up. It wasn't an unreasonable idea. Surely demons had the same needs. Even little Shippo used the bushes and outhouses when the need arose.

With that thought in mind, she carried her flashlight, and hop-stepped over to the closed tunnel and looked for a secluded, private spot to 'do her business.' She knew she had to hurry because there was no way to tell when Sesshomaru would return, and she did NOT want to be caught in a compromising position by any more perverted demons!

It was quite a bit later when she was beginning to think about going after the elusive demon lord. She wondered if he had gone off and left her. Of course, she had suggested that at one point, or, at least she thought she had. If he got out and sent someone back for her, that would be good too. Still, he should have told her if that was what he had planned. She didn't want to sit around all day waiting for someone who wasn't coming. But, then he did say he'd be right back.

She hobbled around, trying out her splinted ankle. It would work for short distances, but each step made her want to scream. She really needed a crutch! But, five foot long sticks with a "y" at the top were in short supply down in the bowels of the earth. Still, that didn't stop her from searching for one. Maybe she'd get lucky and find a root or something.

She looked at her watch and saw that it was nearing 11:00. She grumbled to herself, "Okay, now this is getting ridiculous. I'm not going to sit around here and waste my time. The morning's practically gone! He said there was fresh air from that way, so there must be some type of exit, or air hole. I'll just head that way and look for him. I mean, if he's coming back, he'd probably appreciate it if I met him halfway." So, bracing herself for whatever she might find, Kagome slung her backpack on her shoulders, clicked on the flashlight, and hop-stepped over to the side of the tunnel.

The beam of the light reflected off all the airborne particles of dust and dirt that still hung in the air from the earlier cave in. Nothing seemed out of place. Every few feet there were small piles of dirt stacked up on the sides of the tunnel left from the digging feet of the mole demon. The ceiling was actually farther up than she would have expected, since the mole hadn't really been that tall. And on top of that, the tunnel wasn't round. It was more teardrop shaped with the point being the ceiling.

With her right hand on the wall of the tunnel, she could hop on her left foot and keep most of her weight off the sprained right ankle. It was a bit of an inconvenience to move around the piles of loose dirt, but she managed. The flashlight beam danced and jiggled with her hopping movements and she imagined this was what a light show at a dance club must feel like.

By the time sweat was rolling down her spine into her panties, she decided it was time for a small break. She plopped her tired body down on one of the small boulders that had become dislodged from the tunnel wall. She shone the flashlight on her watch and was surprised to see it was almost 2:00. She had walked longer than she thought she could have on her first try. "Time flies when you're hopping along." But it worried her that she had yet to see Sesshomaru.

While she was digging out a block of Ramen and swearing to never eat the nasty stuff ever again, she noticed a slight flicker from her trusty flashlight. Her heart leaped into her throat. She almost wailed, "No! My batteries can't be dying already. I haven't even hardly used them!" Just as a precaution, she hurriedly clicked off the reassuring beam of light to preserve the batteries she was depending on.

It was then that she realized just how dark it truly was. A chill ran up her spine into her hair, and she could feel the very pores on her skin tingle with goose bumps. Her heart echoed in her ears as she strained to hear any movement or noise in the suffocating darkness. She finally started talking to herself, "Calm down. It's just the same as it was a minute ago when the flashlight was on. I'll just sit here until I've rested and eat my noodles. Then I'll click it back on and keep going. Besides, this is good. This way, if there's an opening in the ceiling, I'll see the light streaming in."

The pep talk helped to sooth her nerves as she gnawed at the block of uncooked Ramen. Her taste buds tried to remember what regularly prepared Ramen tasted like, and she promised herself to make a huge helping when she was reunited with Inuyasha. Her heart slowed back to its resting rate, and she sat there until the sweat on her back started to get cold. With a clap of her hands, she announced to the darkness, "Welp! Time to get going. Don't want to make Lord Sesshomaru wait."

Clicking back on the flashlight relieved most of her unreasonable fears, but she still used the beam to scan around in front of her and behind her. It wouldn't do to let something sneak up behind her. So, every ten hops-steps or so, she would shine the halogen back the way she came. Nothing was ever there, but she couldn't shake the feeling of a presence looking over her shoulder. It was beginning to really give her the creeps.

She wanted to call out for Sesshomaru and see if he was there. Maybe he would return and give her a hand with walking since it was getting really tiring. But she didn't, because there was always the off chance that something had eaten him, and would be attracted to her call. She had absolutely nothing to defend herself with, unless you counted her halogen and backpack as a weapon. Maybe she could throw Ramen at the demon to distract it while she escaped. This thought made her snicker into the darkness. The only problem with that idea was that there was no where to run to. The farthest she could retreat was the cave that started all this mess.

Again, her flashlight dimmed slightly in the middle of one of her hops. She gasped and held her breath to see if it steadied or remained dim. The light dimmed even more and she whined as she brought it up to her hand and beat it against her right palm. She had seen her friends do this on camping trips, and sure enough, the light returned to its normal brightness.

So, she returned to her shuffle of 10 hops and look behind her; 10 hops and look behind her. Every time she looked behind her, it gave her incentive to hurry a little more. By the time sweat was rolling down her spine again, it was nearing 5:00. So, she took another little darkness break to eat some more and rest her body and batteries. She tried to picture what her friends were doing right now. If it were a normal day, they would be arguing with Inuyasha, trying to get him to let them stop for dinner. In the blackness of the tunnel, she smiled at the thought.

When she started up walking again, the pain in her ankle had totally eradicated any fear she had of something lurking behind her in the dark. Also, the looming fear of her flashlight fading completely was becoming a reality. Now, the light dimmed after every hop. It was a certainty that any minute now, her lifeline, the flashlight, would blink off, and that would be the end of it. She scrambled to try and figure a way out of this. She could always crawl in the complete darkness. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about falling, and she could rest her ankle. Or, she could just sit still and wait for the rescue party. AS IF!

Suddenly, she felt something against her cheek. A startled squeak escaped her before she could stop it. Her heart took off pounding at a gallop and she held her breath to try and determine what had just happened. She pressed her back up against the wall of the tunnel and shone the fading light all around her; front, back, side, above and below. There was nothing to be seen anywhere. Yet there it was again, a strange, tickling feeling on her left cheek. With a shaking hand, she reached for her face to feel what was there. All she found was her own hair.

Her brow creased in a confused frown as she shone the flashlight up a little so she could see her hand. In her hand was a few stray wisps of her hair and she noticed, that they were blowing gently in a breeze. Her mind latched onto the fact and ran with it. "Breeze means air flow. Air flow means there must be a place the air is going to. Maybe it's an exit!"

With renewed hope, she hopped forwards in the direction of her blowing hair. Another thirty hops down the tunnel found her staring about with her mouth hanging open. The dying flashlight cast a weak beam showing the intersection of the tunnel she was in with another tunnel. She basically stood at the crossroads of four deep, dark, foreboding black holes. Now what?!

She watched her hair blow in all directions, not indicating where the exit could be. It seemed that air blew through all of these tunnels and there was no sign as to where Sesshomaru might have gone, or even if he had passed by this place at all. Frustration boiled up in her and she balled her fists and stomped her foot. Luckily she stomped her good foot, otherwise she would have ended up a lump on the floor!

She started ranting, "Oh, this is just great! Just great! I'm stuck down here in the dark with a dying flashlight and a missing demon lord! Where is he! He said he'd come back, but does he? NooOoooo. He just walks off all pretty as you please and leaves me alone for a whole frickin day! What an arrogant jerk!" Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes, but she refused to cry because of that pompous fluffy jerk. "I've got to get out of here and go home! I need to study for a test that's important to my future. I don't have time for this!"

If her leg had been fine, she would have paced around the little crossroads underground. As it was, she huffed over to a boulder that lay just before her current tunnel opened up into the crossroads. She might as well sit there and get used to the darkness that was closing in. She could set up her backpack on this side of the rock, which would provide some protection if something spooky walked by from the other tunnel. Maybe later, she could even break out her cook stove for a light source, if she got too weirded out by the darkness.

With the last bit of light, she set up her sleeping bag with her backpack up against the wall. She didn't know how she was going to get any sleep since this was the first time she'd been down here all alone in the complete darkness. Even if Sesshomaru had been as talkative as a hibernating bear, his presence had been reassuring.

As she spread the wrinkles out of her bedding, she felt something behind her, and turned with her flashlight out of habit. Her blood froze as this time there WAS something there. Seven feet tall something. It was something straight out of a Dracula movie. The black body was painfully thin with a bald head and face of parchment white skin. The eyes were glowing yellow in the sunken eye sockets. There were pointy ears arching up from the edge of his neck to six inches above his scalp. It had no nose, only open holes, and below that, where the mouth should have been, razor sharp fangs clashed against each other in mandibles that reminded her of the alien from Predator.

Kagome let out her best ear-piercing scream of pure terror at the vile creature that had caught her unaware. She shone the little beam of light into its eyes on the off chance that it would ward off this encounter like it did the mole. To her horror, the creature released its own other-wordly shriek and leathery black wings opened up from behind it. Kagome fell to her butt and backed up tight to the corner formed where the boulder met the tunnel wall. Her mind flailed for ideas to defend her precious life and came up blank.

Before she could move a second time, the terrifying creature leaped into the air and flew off down one of the intersecting tunnels. Above her, what seemed to be millions of bats detached from the roof of the tunnel and shrieked off after the creature. The only thing Kagome could think to do was to reach down and grab the bottom of her sleeping bag, and pull it up over her head. Her mind kept screaming, 'Protect the neck! Protect the neck!'

It seemed like hours before the last of the bat noises faded into the distance. Still, she remained, shaking under her sleeping bag, afraid to come out. No telling what might be lurking in the now complete darkness. All she kept thinking was how she was going to kill Sesshomaru if he came back for her. Tears finally cascaded down her face as she had to accept the fact that something might really have happened to her companion, in which case, she was on her own in this underground maze.

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

Thank you to my wonderful readers for reviewing my last chapter. It was nice to see comments from my dedicated readers as well as some newbies.

Special thanks to InuTaiGalofDark(you know who you are), ladyofGods, SweetChaosandRevenge, oldestmaiden, ishmaranara CobaltHeart, RosaryMustang, Millenium Ring and Winchester, Melodi Moon, InuJoey, imuzuok (keeper of crickets), Nameless Little Girl, Youko's Befuddled Fox, sushi for lunch, Moonflames, and Demonlordlover(glad you could join us in our little adventure).

I truly hope that this chapter satisfies all your cravings for more updates.

I'm sorry to say that I'll have to take a break for a few weeks, maybe a month. If you didn't read my profile, I'm a graduated law school student, studying for the Bar Exam at the end of July. It is time consuming, and I can't afford to blow this opportunity. I've worked too hard for it.

So, please bear with me and know that I haven't abandoned any of my stories. They stay in my head constantly, which isn't always good, because Sesshomaru will NOT be on the Bar Exam. (though I wish he were!) Of course, I don't mind Sesshomaru showing up when I'm daydreaming. Hehe.

I still challenge anyone with any artistic talent and a deviant art account to draw the great dog demon in a plaid flannel shirt and sweat pants! If you do, let me know

Please review, it will lift my flagging spirits as I try to cram over 900 pages of law in my head in the next 3 weeks.


	13. Chapter 13 Little Dog Lost

Before delving into the thick of things, I thought you faithful readers might find it interesting that this little story has been nominated and seconded on the IYfanguild as the Best Characterization of Sesshomaru for the Second Quarter of 2007. Voting is open from August 13 through August 26. Which is kind of ironic since this actually started out as more of an exploration of Kagome's thoughts. I am truly humbled by this recognition and overjoyed at the same time that someone would find my mental ramblings worthy. Thank you very much!

Now, back to Sesshomaru!

Chapter 13 Little Dog Lost

Sesshomaru was still peeved that Kagome had seen the results of his attempt to escape the tunnel. He had sworn that the cave ceiling was stable enough that the blast from Tokijin would have opened up a nice sized exit in the rock. Possibly he had used a bit too much energy in his eagerness to leave this hell hole. It was rare for him to make such miscalculations so that fact angered him even further.

As he mentally berated himself, he remembered the look of shocked realization on her face as she understood that he had collapsed that section of tunnel. He could not have stayed in the cave to face such accusation even if he had wanted to. So, he proceeded with his plan to explore the options of the other tunnel.

As he walked out of the light cast from the opening in the cave ceiling, he plunged into the almost pitch darkness of the tunnel. He knew he'd have to be more careful about assaulting the ceiling. If he collapsed the tunnel from this direction, it might impair the fresh air flowing back to Kagome. Before he tried that little experiment again, he would have to be one hundred percent positive that it would succeed.

He left the drifting dust behind with the light from the cave, and could smell distinct scents more clearly. The overwhelming scent of decomposing vegetation and primordial layers of dirt covered every surface. This was definitely the musk of the mole demon. Yet, buried in with the putrid animal's scent were the faint traces of something reptilian.

Farther into the tunnels, he smelled the clear odor of bat droppings. Some were quite old, and others were very fresh. Even though it was quite disgusting to be treading through bat guano, it gave him an extra boost of confidence in finding at least an opening large enough for the bat colony to exit into the night to hunt. He felt a sense of gratification that he was civilized enough to wear boots to protect his feet. Inuyasha would be dragging his barbaric bare feet through the feces. It was a thought that made him smile.

Yet, with the overlaying stink from the mole demon, he could not identify if these particular bats were fruit eating bats, or the rarer blood-sucking bats. He could also not detect if there were any bat demons among the lower animals. It was not that unusual to find a large collection of animals being directed and lead by a demon of the same nature. Like Koga and his wolves.

Sesshomaru was always up for a good fight, but he didn't think encountering an aggressive bat demon in such an enclosed area was such a good idea. His attacks were mostly long-range attacks that could easily collapse the rest of this miserable tunnel. His acid and poison could be effective in close range, but he had to wonder if the residue would somehow be carried back towards Kagome in the air current. He could always use his whip in close quarters and then there were always his trusty claws and swordsmanship. When all else failed, go back to the basics, his dreaded Father had always preached in practice. Usually after beating him senseless when he had tried to get too fancy.

His thoughts fled as he approached what appeared to be an intersection of this tunnel with a second tunnel. Standing in the intersection, he lifted his head to sniff the air from all directions in search of currents that would travel to the surface. It was quite confusing to experience the maelstrom of winds flowing in all directions. There was no particularly strong indication of what lay beyond the reach of the darkness in any direction.

As he hesitated and formulated plan after plan, he wondered if he should return for the girl. He had not been gone for very long. She would still be busy attending to her injuries, and whatever else human females occupied themselves with. He had ordered her to stay, and like Rin, he expected to be obeyed without question or hesitation. It never even entered his formulations to think that she would disobey. He was not thinking about her stubborn tendencies that he had witnessed in her dealings with his brother. For, he was the great Lord Sesshomaru, and not his brother. And with that moment of arrogance, he dismissed her from his mind, knowing that he had left Rin alone for longer periods of time, and expected Kagome to be able to endure even more on her own.

Being a wanderer by nature, his instinct was just to travel a certain distance down each pathway, then return to the crossroads, and try another. The only pressing question was, how far should he travel before circling back? Not having any real benchmarks to measure by in these uniformly dark tunnels, he decided on a random number of strides to mark his progress.

Now, which tunnel to travel first? He looked closely at the mounds of dirt the mole demon had scrabbled aside in his trek. His current tunnel's cast-off dirt spilled out into this new intersecting tunnel where they crossed. To his sharp mind, this indicated that his current tunnel was newer than the other. If he continued forward in the newer tunnel, he was more likely to encounter the annoying mound of mole that had fled from their cave encounter. Not only did he not feel like confronting that simpleton, but the mole was making this tunnel as it went. So if he killed the mole that would be the end of the tunnel. With that in mind, Sesshomaru veered off to the intersecting tunnel on the left. There was no real reason he chose the left hand tunnel over the right hand tunnel. He just did.

As he made his way over loose rocks and debris, part of his mind counted each stride. He had arbitrarily chosen 1000 as a good number. It was a fair distance that he could cover relatively easily. Hopefully, it would be far enough to lead him to some discovery that would allow him out.

Every 100 or so paces, he would stop and ascend on his cloud to inspect the geologic structure of the ceiling. Surely, there would come a point that this sedimentary rock and shale that made up the roof would give way to a more stable, blast-tolerant rock. This country side was subjected to earth movement and storms. How could such fragile structures resist the onslaught?

On one of his closer inspections, Sesshomaru noticed something a little different about the ceiling composition. He had expected to uncover some sections that were nothing more than compressed dirt. He had walked over a mole burrow in the forest floor, and it had compacted back in to create a furrow. But this was different. There seemed to be some type of binding agent creating a thin crust holding the dirt together. Was this a by-product of the mole demon's passage? Did it secrete some type of fluid that strengthened the ceiling to prevent the inevitable cave in? It made sense, and also explained why his blast had collapsed that unfortunate tunnel. It was like breaking through an eggshell. Once the protective crust was broken, the shifting rock and dirt cascaded through.

His trek down this tunnel provided no other insights. When he reached his 1000 pace limit, he stopped and stretched his senses to penetrate the darkness beyond him. With the less potent smell of demon mole, he could distinguish several creatures inhabiting these tunnels. He could clearly smell bats, and a large number of bat demons. There were also some nasty smelling snake demons and some other small fry demons. Laced among the putrid smells of these lower class demons was the rancid scent of decaying flesh; some of which was human.

His sense of curiosity was pushing him to travel on, while his rational mind wanted to stick with the plan of returning to the crossroads, and traveling down another path the chosen distance. With a surprising show of self-control, he pivoted on his heel and returned the way he had come. If the other two tunnels proved worthless, he could always return to explore farther into this puzzle.

It took no time to cover the same distance on the return trip, since he didn't have to stop and inspect the ceiling. It had not changed in the past few moments. When he reached the intersection, he didn't even pause as he crossed over the original tunnel. He simply continued his routine of walk 100 paces, check the ceiling and continue. The same glaze of mole residue was evident on the ceiling, strengthening the weak building material above.

As his intelligent mind grew complacent with this physical routine, he returned to his previous pondering from the night before. He had read about Kagome's impressions and recollections of their first interactions. It had not been good. Still, hadn't his other dealings with the group changed her opinions about him?

Then there was the startling revelation that Inuyasha probably truly hated him. How could the boy not? Sesshomaru had never exposed his true feelings and motivations to his brother. From a completely objective point of view, it would appear that Sesshomaru had done everything he could to humiliate and kill his little brother. Didn't Inuyasha realize that the attacks and taunting had ceased? There was little point to antagonize him to fight harder, when his own experiences had taught him that lesson. He, Sesshomaru, had witnessed the increase in the boy's attacks during their last battle in Father's tomb against Naraku. The boy had mastered attacks that even their own Father had never achieved.

Sesshomaru remembered the same training method being used in his youth by their Father. And, if he thought back far enough, he could also remember thinking his Father hated him and was trying to kill him. As a small pup, he had thought his Father had not truly wanted children, and that was why his litter-mates had perished in the midst of in-fighting and training. It had not been until well after his Father had died that he realized that his siblings had perished because of their inherent weakness of character and body. Being so young, and so powerful, it was easy to lose control and kill one another in childish anger. So, the training had begun quite early.

Such was the curse of powerful demons. Weak demons proliferated and filled the land because they didn't have to worry about controlling enormous power. Medium status demons were not quite as numerous, but their young were almost powerless until they began to mature. They might have been more susceptible to attack from others, but they did not die from childish play. The wolves and foxes were examples of this. As long as there were able bodied adults to protect the young, their litters flourished and survived to repopulate their numbers.

Unfortunately, dog demons were among the strongest still residing in the land. As such, their young were quite vulnerable to dying from their own strength. Even something as mundane as the frustration of fighting over a coveted toy could result in transformation and death. As harsh as it seemed, it truly was survival of the fittest. It was rare for dog demon pups to survive into adulthood. Therefore, they were practically non-existent anymore. Sesshomaru had not seen another dog demon other than his Mother, Father and Inuyasha since his last sibling died on the battlefield. As proud of his pure bloodline as Sesshomaru was, he knew that it would end with him.

His Father had scoured the entire world looking for a mate to produce a full-blooded dog demon heir. His Mother had been a rare creature that had agreed to the union for the same reason as he; to prevent the extinction of their race. After she left, his Father had found himself desperate to increase the size of their pack, even if it was half-blooded instead of full blooded. His Father had confided in Sesshomaru his hopes that since Sesshomaru had gone through such a difficult childhood, losing siblings to their power, that he would be eager and willing to help protect any additions to the family. His Father had admitted that trying to raise and protect a pack of pups while keeping his borders secure had been a recipe for disaster. With his second mate, his Father had hoped that her human nature of protectiveness and nurturing would guarantee that the pups would stay safe when he was not present. In truth, he was right, it was just unfortunate that she had to protect Inuyasha on her own after his Father died.

Sesshomaru reached his predetermined number of steps and returned to the intersection. His frustration was mounting that he could not find any sturdy rock ceilings that could withstand a blast. How in the world could he be trapped in something so flimsy? He chastised himself, "If only for that human, I would be free by now!" Still, he owed that girl, Kagome, some consideration for saving Rin when he could not. It was simply a matter of perseverance and he would find some natural egress out of this tunnel system. He no longer thought of it as a simple cave.

Finding himself back at the crossing of the old and new tunnel, he turned right into the new tunnel and continued walking. The stink of the mole demon grew to such degree that it almost caused him to gag. Somehow it was even worse than when the vile beast had dug through their little cave.

Upon inspecting the roof in this newer tunnel, he found that the hardening substance was not hard, and even the slightest vibration caused sections of the ceiling to crumble. Before he could have trekked very far down the tunnel, he heard scrabbling noises coming from in front of him. A squeal of upset mole reached his ears, and he realized that the great beast was trying to backtrack out of the tunnel it had just dug.

More sounds of struggle reached his sensitive ears and he tried to make out what was occurring in front of him in the pitch black. The scent of the mole demon changed also, in that it now reeked of distress and fear. It was then that the sounds of other creatures in the tunnel reached his ears; that and the smell of blood. It seemed that the mole demon was under attack.

His sharp mind quickly switched from contemplation to analysis as he tried to determine what could be down here that could mount such an attack or would want to assault an unarmed, defenseless mole demon. He had scented bats, bat demons, and snake demons. Normally, none of these were extremely aggressive unless they were disturbed in their burrows and hives. Is it possible that the lumbering beast had dug his way into the heart of the demons' nests?

With the thrashing of the dying mole demon before him, the unstable roof again collapsed. This time, he was aware enough of the potential that he used his demonic speed to retreat out of harms way. "So much for that path. I will return to where the scent was strongest." And so deciding, he returned to the first tunnel and walked past the point where he had turned around the first time.

The scents grew in potency, but still, there were no additional demon smells present. Just bats, lots of bat demons and snake demons and the overwhelming smell of death and carnage. It seemed he was approaching through the dumping ground for the remains of their meals. How undignified. But, if he wanted to survey the enemy, it was necessary.

He was almost amazed that he had walked three times as far as his original 1000 paces before he came to a change in the tunnel. With the intense smell, he had assumed that the demons were closer than they truly were. This caused only the smallest tickle of worry in the back of his mind that there must be a great deal more demons than he had surmised.

The tunnel seemed to widen a fraction, then connect up with another tunnel. But this wasn't a normal intersection like he had already inspected. This connection joined with another tunnel, and another. After another 50 paces, he was drawn up short by the sight of literally dozens of tunnels coming together to form a strange honeycomb effect. This intersection opened up into an enormous cavern literally filled with carcasses littering the floor and roaming snake and bat demons.

He stood there observing the scene for quite some time. The bustling reminded him of a thriving city, and the stench even reminded him of some human settlements he had avoided. It was almost beautiful the way the workers seemed to move about with military precision as if being directed by a distant general on a battlefield. Shockingly enough, several passed within detection range of the stationary dog demon and did not even so much as acknowledge his presence.

As he stood, studying and analyzing their movements, he was forming plan after plan as to his course of action. He could always turn away and leave this cavern of activity. That would avoid a confrontation, but not lead to an exit. He could attempt to simply walk through the inattentive demons and continue his search for an exit. But what would he do if he found that elusive exit? He could not retrieve Kagome and carry her through this demon infestation. He was sure that her scent alone would be enough to attract attention and rile these seemingly docile demons. Then, his favorite option was to simply attack without warning and wipe these pitiful creatures out of existence.

His honor would not let him simply attack without provocation. Once provoked, he would attack without mercy, but his Father had drilled some principles into his mind that ruled his every action, whether he wanted them to or not. He had learned as a small child, after watching his litter mates die at each others' hands that one should not attack before being attacked. Although that did give your opponent the advantage of the first strike, it also prevented him from unleashing his mighty temper. Besides, he had grown in power to the point that most enemies could attack him in his dead sleep period, and they still could barely scratch him.

So he decided to use a ploy that was always effective when dealing with Inuyasha; the "appear and taunt" ploy. Truthfully, he doubted he would even have to taunt these lower demons. His appearance enough would be cause for alarm in their orderly lives. So, without another thought, he strode out of his sheltering tunnel and proceeded to walk towards the other end of the cavern where some unnatural formation hung from the ceiling.

The first snake demon to cross his path hissed as it swerved to move around him. The second demon looked more feral and it stopped and barked some type of comment before continuing. Since this was not working, Sesshomaru turned slightly and waded into the thickest gathering of strange demons and simply stood there. How could they not take his presence as a threat?

With his first plan not working as he had hoped, he decided to try simply walking through them and looking for an exit. If they did not attack, he was not justified in exterminating them. It was a fine line his Father had him walk between self defense and pre-emptive strikes.

The cave roof seemed a good bit more study in the large cavern. His mind studied it, looking for a crack or seam that would lend itself to a large blast of his power without collapsing. But then again, if this cavern ceiling collapsed, the chances of it destroying a tunnel also were tiny. This structure seemed to have been augmented by the bat demons to accommodate their hive.

His eyes traveled to the structure that he assumed was the hive of the bat demons. Most that he had encountered lived without any adornment in barren caves. This was something different. Was it possibly a new species of bat demons? Since they were not behaving in the normal manner for bat demons, he could not assume they would attack in the normal manner of bat demons. Most of the bats he had encountered were vicious and enjoyed tearing their prey apart before draining the blood and devouring the souls. Their primary means of attack were fangs, claws and energy blasts from their mouths. He had heard tell through Myoga that one clan even developed the ability to create barriers through their more advanced offspring. And if Myoga were to be believed, even a half-breed daughter of this advanced bat demon had inherited this same ability and more. Maybe what he was witnessing was another evolution in the advancement of bat demons as a whole. Still, they were no where near the evolutionary stage that his own Father represented among upper level demons.

The hive seemed to be constructed of dirt that was combined with a hardening agent similar to that which the mole produced. This was then molded into a rounded building that apparently housed many chambers. Several demons flew in and out of the multiple entrances. Some were carrying items while others approached empty handed.

He noticed that there were some larger and more vicious looking bat demons that seemed to be circling about the structure in set patterns. Were these possibly guards? As he neared the structure, the air currents seemed to flow faster past him, lifting his flowing white hair and pulling it upward. He glanced up at the ceiling hoping to find an exit. What he found was that the hive itself seemed poised on the very edge of an opening wide enough to allow an entire troop of demons to pass at once. This was going to be harder than he assumed at first.

As he stood in the swirling currents, a bat demon the size of a mountain approached him from behind. Sesshomaru's senses alerted him to the looming presence and he turned to size up this new opponent. This giant wore armor and carried an imposing pike that doubled as a long sword. Its hide that showed through the armor was covered in scars. This was definitely not a worker drone. This was a warrior.

As soon as this guard confronted him, a dozen more poured out of the hive to surround them. Sesshomaru sensed some type of communication energy traveling between the bat demons and the hive, but it was not on a level that he could intercept. Not only did the guards appear, but the previously oblivious workers seemed to drop their assigned tasks and swarm to join the fight. Their numbers were staggering. If he were not a great warrior himself, he would be concerned about them simply crushing him with their combined body weight.

The first swipe of a sword did not come from the initial confronting guard. Instead, a concentrated blast of energy was fired as his back from one of the other warriors. And so the battle began. His hands were freed to attack at will in any direction he chose.

He had thought the fight would be a one-sided victory in a short amount of time. Instead, he was loathe to admit, that these bat demons and snake demons attacked with as much military precision as they had performed their various tasks before he had stirred the nest. Using his claws, whip, and sword, he was hard-pressed to keep them from swarming over him like an angry ant mound. Their numbers literally boiled with movement, and none of it wasted. They must have drilled on these attacks for ages to perfect such formations.

Another thing he noticed, to his dismay, was that injured warriors and workers were quickly and efficiently dragged out of harms way when they fell, and carted back to the hive. It took quite a while before he noticed the return of opponents that he had already killed once. Then he would kill them again, and be facing them a third time not long after. Was there something within the hive itself that was regenerating these obnoxious low-lifes? Or were these just undead drones like he faced on the battlefield while fighting Takemaru's forces in the battle against Sounga?

The fight dragged on endlessly and moved all about the great cavern. From time to time, he had flipped up and out of the center of the fight to gain a fresh perspective. Also he tried to move to an unprotected part of the mass that was attacking him, but to no avail. It seemed that no matter where he went, or what he did, the shell of attackers reformed in their perfect formation instantly.

Now, Sesshomaru was normally a demon that enjoyed a good workout, and loved a challenge. But at some point, as the hours dragged on, this moved past a challenge and became simply a bore. There were no new maneuvers being used. There was no tipping of the battle in favor of one side or the other. It was a stalemate; a boring, stalemate that could last into eternity since the fallen were being regenerated.

Growing angry at his inability to deliver a decisive blow against this seemingly pitiful foe, Sesshomaru changed his tactics. Since the hive was the source of their endless supply of antagonists, he was going to attack the hive directly. After clearing a bit of breathing room around him with his whips, he powered up Tokijin and sent a minor blast towards the hive. When the blast connected, the cavern lit up with the blue lightening, temporarily blinding the combatants. In that moment, Sesshomaru took advantage of the lull, and sprang out of the center of the horde towards the area where the hive was suspended from the ceiling.

With all his considerable might, Sesshomaru swung Tokijin and struck the connecting structure of the hive. A mighty gong sound rang through the cavern as the hive vibrated with the force of the strike. Bits of aggregated dirt and rock crumbled from the connection and the sides of the hive and rained down on the stunned horde.

Seconds later, the warrior bats launched themselves at the dog demon that was assaulting their home. The seemingly precise and organized demons attacked with a rabid viciousness that Sesshomaru had not previously experienced. It seemed that all their careful organization went away when they were desperate. An evil smirk crossed the porcelain white face of the dog demon as he jumped away from the circling horde of bats and swung a second blow against the connection.

Below his feet, he could feel the hive begin to sway and groan at his assault. As he kept a close eye on the circling demons, he realized that they could not attack him with any energy blasts without risking hitting their own hive. Now this was getting fun. He loved outsmarting his opponents and discovering their weakness to exploit to his advantage. It was what any intelligent being enjoyed; a challenge.

Just to be aggravating, Sesshomaru took a third swing at the connecting structure and was rewarded with a shriek from the bat demons, and a groan from the structure he was assaulting. While they were regrouping, Sesshomaru launched himself back towards an open area in the center of the cavern so he would have some room to maneuver.

Once there, he watched the workers scramble to intercept him before he could cause any more damage. Unfortunately, they were just a few steps too slow. He infused Tokijin with his considerable aura, and swung the glowing blast at the connecting structure of the hive. As expected, it shattered with a sickening explosion and he smiled in triumph as it crashed into the floor of the cavern.

The hive was obviously built to withstand the forces of gravity pulling down on it, but it was not built to survive a crushing impact with the ground. As such, the previously impenetrable material pancaked down upon itself and deteriorated into a pile of rubble.

The focus of the warrior bat demons shifted away from the white demon in the middle of the cavern, and all the demons converged on the crushed hive. Snakes and lower demons began pulling away chunks of debris. The bat demons flew into any openings into the hive that were accessible. Slowly, the bat demons began emerging carrying white bundles that were as long as Sesshomaru's legs. They looked suspiciously like cocoons.

This confused Sesshomaru since as far as he knew, bat demons bore live young. So, what were they concealing in the cocoons? Was there another breed of demons being harbored in the hive that he had not sensed?

All the activity of his opponents seemed to be focused on evacuating the hive and carrying their cargo down the nearest tunnel. A strange crackling noise erupted from the depths of the ruined hive and the top began to flex. With a roar and a cracking sound, a giant being rose from the rubble.

Sesshomaru was almost shocked to see a giant female bat demon rise amid the dust and noise. She was five times taller than Sesshomaru in his human form, and easily twice as tall as any other demon in the cavern. She was also quite beautiful as far as other demons went. Her face was like a sculpture depicting one of the deities that the silly humans worshipped on foreign shores. Unfortunately, her body was a grotesque combination of bat demon and snake demon. Where she should have had legs, she had two tails of reptile scales. Her wings were black and gold with snakeheads protruding from the joint where hands should be. Overall, she looked quite deadly.

Once this female stepped out from the rubble, the warrior bat demons regrouped in their proper military formations and attacked him again with more conviction. Sesshomaru was hard pressed to defend himself from these reenergized attackers. Again, he had to flip and twist to remove himself from the center of attack, and even once considered diving towards the retreating female. Unfortunately, as soon as the idea crossed his mind, he was faced with a living wall of regular bats and snakes that were covering the retreat of the female down the same tunnel that the cocoons had been carried down.

As it occurred to the dog demon that these demons and animals were all acting with the same mind, he realized what he had sensed earlier. This giant female hybrid must be controlling these forces. They were too precise to be acting on their own volition. It was beyond the type of communication that bees and ants employed with pheromones and scent signals. This was instantaneous communication and synchronized reactions. To take out all these troops, he would have to destroy the queen.

Then, as quickly as the battle had begun, it ended. The cavern cleared of any other living bodies like water running out of a cracked vessel. The bats, lower demons, bat demons and snake demons all funneled out down that one tunnel after the retreating form of their queen. He stood stunned for a moment as he scanned the area for any sneak attacks that might come his way when he dropped his guard. There was nothing. He couldn't sense another living creature within his range, except the fading horde.

Looking around, he realized that much of the cavern had collapsed with the destruction of the hive. Many of the inbound tunnels had also been destroyed and buried. Yet, the opening in the ceiling still remained, showing a lovely scattering of stars on a nightly backdrop. Had he fought for an entire day? He was sure that it had been early morning when he had begun this little exploration into the heart of the tunnels. An evil smile crossed his face as he imagined the reaction he would face when he returned to retrieve Kagome. He might not have been as acquainted with her as he was with Rin, but he had witnessed some of the epoch battles of dominance between the priestess and his half-brother. When she felt she had been slighted or ignored, she was as vicious as the most rabid, feral demoness…. at least verbally. Other than the subjugation necklace, he had never seen her physically attack Inuyasha, even when he was truly deserving of at least a slap in the face.

So, with the thoughts to retrieve the most likely fuming woman, Sesshomaru turned to retrace his steps back into the tunnel that had carried him here. He sniffed and walked about the edge of the cavern. Even though he had an almost perfect sense of direction, he could not tell from whence he had come. Of the tunnels that were not collapsed, he could not detect her scent, or his scent for that matter. The tunnel he had used should smell slightly of her, and strongly of him. But as it was, he could not detect any scent beyond his that had been spread thoroughly around as the battle moved from one part of the cavern to another.

So, he began surveying the damaged tunnels for any indication of which one had lead him here. Again, there was no indication, only destruction. For once, he wished he were not so efficient at destroying things.

So, the plan to backtrack through the tunnels had to be discarded. As he walked towards the destroyed hive, his mind spun with other alternatives. He couldn't just blast open all the collapsed caves. They would not support such an assault and might start a chain reaction collapse. Stupid shifting subsoil! A low growl began to form in his throat with his frustration.

The only other way he could accurately locate the annoying woman was from the battlefield that had dropped them into the cave in the first place. He was sure he could locate the air hole that had provided them with a modicum of light over the past few days. How he would extract her from there he would have to decide once he arrived. Surely, some solution would present itself on how to dig out the roof of the cave without collapsing it further. He refused to have invested this much time and effort into helping the priestess survive, only to have her die over some such foolishness.

With a quick nod of his head, he looked up at the sky that was visible above, and coiled the muscles of his legs to launch him up through the opening. He kept his sword at the ready, anticipating a collateral attack from above as soon as he emerged. As he landed gracefully on the waving grass, no other beings threatened him. He took his first breath of fresh air in days and simply enjoyed the feeling of the night breeze blowing across his skin. Oh, how he had missed this. Over his long life, he had finally come to realize something his Father had told him repeatedly. It was the little things in life that brought joy.

After a brief indulgence, he lifted his nose to scent the direction in which he needed to travel. He could tell from the surrounding area that he had traveled west of the initial battlefield. It was beneficial that he was intimately familiar with the territory he wandered. He could not be more than an hour or twos walk from his destination.

Although it was late into the night, he set off in that direction. It might be humorous to catch the little priestess sleeping. She did squeak in such a cute way when he startled her. How much more amusing would it be to rouse her from a dead sleep? Of course, the night when he had kept waking her with a nudge of his knee, she had NOT been amusing. She had been down right abrasive. Maybe, he would let her sleep until morning before he attempted to remove her from the cave. He wanted to keep his ears intact on the sides of his head. Her shrieking was enough to melt his pointed appendages.

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Koga was getting annoyed. The direction he had set out in to find Kagome and her group had led him nowhere. When he arrived, they were already gone. And worse than that, he couldn't detect Kagome's luscious scent anywhere. He could smell the other five members of her group, but not her. And on top of that, there were others that had joined their group before they vanished. All he could figure is that they had taken to the air. As such, the scent trail was even harder to follow. Not that following Inuyasha was ever easy. The mutt's smell made Koga sick to his stomach. Only the possibility of meeting Kagome made the suffering worth it.

So, Koga turned and headed back in an Easterly direction. As he was traveling, his two companions caught up with him and begged for a break. But, Koga being the leader that he was, knew that going easy on his underlings would lead them to be nothing but weak. He had realized this sad fact after the massacre of the majority of their tribe. He had taken up the slack for his weaker pack members, instead of insisting that they continue training hard to make themselves stronger. He was determined not to repeat such a mistake again. So, he made the two younger wolf demons run after him. Yet, he was not heartless enough to use his enhanced speed from the jewel shards. He was naturally fast, and had loved running since he was a cub, so his stamina was greater than any other wolf demon in any of the tribes. This was the strength he was trying to pass on to his subordinates. If they could just get a little stronger, they would be keeping up with him in his fastest normal pace.

So, Koga followed along behind Inuyasha's group not knowing where exactly they were headed and why. He was sure he'd find out soon enough, and it better not involve Kagome being in trouble. It seemed like every time he encountered Inuyasha, Kagome was in trouble, or had just been saved from some trouble. It was like the girl was a magnet for the worst elements of this world. Could it be that evil was drawn to her innocence?

As he ran into the night, he smelled a strange scent that reeked of blood, dog and Kagome. It was a bit farther South than the trail Inuyasha had taken, but it was still intriguing enough to draw the wolf's attention. Without really thinking about it, he turned towards the smell of Kagome since it was not present with Inuyasha. He'd really much rather find and save the girl, then fight with the mutt.

In a clearing a few miles south of where he had left the trail of Inuyasha, Koga came across a strangely dressed Sesshomaru, striding with purpose towards the East. Koga's first thought was, "What is with everyone traveling East?" His second thought was spoken out loud, "What in the Hell are you wearing?"

Sesshomaru spun to greet the wolf demon with a cold glare. He had totally forgotten that he was parading about in the girl's strange futuristic clothes and not his usual pristine trademark silks. He felt almost diminished somehow to be caught in these dark blue, stretchy, form hugging pants and the blue and black plaid fuzzy shirt with the odd pearl fasteners. To counter the embarrassment he felt, Sesshomaru held himself even more rigid and looked down his arrogant nose at the measly wolf demon and commented, "What business is it of yours in what garments this Sesshomaru clothes himself?" With a dismissive air, he pivoted on one foot and strode away.

Koga was not one to be dismissed lightly and took offense at this attitude. "Hey! I was talking to you! Don't turn your back on me!" Then, Koga took a step towards the great demon and sniffed. A look of complete confusion crossed his face. His voice was brittle with anger as he spoke again, "Why do you smell like Kagome? I swear, if you've hurt her I will kill you!"

Sesshomaru stopped without turning around and huffed, "I need not explain myself to the likes of you." But he did not continue walking. It was as if he could feel Koga's need to lash out at something or someone and he simply waited for the attack that was inevitable.

Just as he knew would happen, it was only seconds before the angered wolf launched himself at the dog demon's back shouting, "Why you insolent dog! You better start explaining or I'll make you talk! Kagome's my woman and you have no right to touch her!" A flying kick neared Sesshomaru's head when he simply side-stepped the foot and reached out a hand to grab the passing ankle and yank it. The contact sent Koga sprawling onto his face on the forest floor. Dirt and leaves flew up at the site of the impact. Sesshomaru smirked; it was a glorious landing, almost worthy of Inuyasha's usual fighting style.

Sesshomaru deigned to speak to the heap of twisted wolf and taunted him, "You fight no better than Inuyasha did… two years ago. He is a much more worthy opponent than you. Pitiful!" This taunt did exactly what was expected. Koga was so enraged that he stopped thinking straight and his pitiful attacks became even sloppier. Sesshomaru looked on and thought, "Hmm, maybe since Inuyasha has progressed to a point where our spars are no longer so one-sided, I should start training this lowly wolf to be more of a challenge. I had heard that this one also seeks the demise of Naraku and especially his incarnation Kagura. Besides, Jakken is not very useful for working out my frustrations. Sometimes a good beating can be so therapeutic."

Sesshomaru would have laughed at the anger the wolf was exuding if he were not getting bored with the display. If he spoke, he was sure the wolf would be spitting and foaming at the mouth. It became obvious to Sesshomaru that Inuyasha must hold back his strength when he 'fought' with the wolf. There was no way that this sorry excuse for a wolf leader could even make a dent in his half-brother's defenses. If anyone knew the boy's potential, it was he who had sparred with and tested him over the years. If Inuyasha were truly angry at this wolf, there would be no contest, and nothing left of the wolf, except for a greasy spot and a bit of tail fluff.

Finally weary of the infantile attacks, Sesshomaru threw the wolf into a tree with enough force to stun him into stillness. He turned and spoke over his shoulder as he moved to leave the clearing, "If you wish to continue this training session, you should wait until I have reached my goal. I will not have you hinder me further. I go to retrieve the very one you question me about from her confinement. Also, for your information, the clothes that you disparage were provided by Kagome which is the cause of her scent on my person." And in usual Sesshomaru fashion, he disappeared into the tree line without allowing any time for the wolf to respond.

With a stunned look, Koga picked himself out of the splintered tree, brushed off his armor and tail, and followed after the great white dog. "Although," he thought, "the great white dog is now black and blue and plaid." This made the wolf snicker. Hopefully, he did not laugh loud enough to insult the demon that had just beaten him without even breaking a sweat. "And with only one arm, for that matter. How humiliating." Koga thought sadly. Maybe he just needed to stick to attacking mutt-face. At least he made it fun by swapping insults. It was no fun to just get silently beaten hands down.

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AN: I hope this satisfies your cravings for an update that you have all had to suffer over the last month. I know it satisfied my desire to write the next part.

Next time, we will see Inuyasha and company meet up with Sess and Koga at the crater. How are they going to dig her out, and what will happen when they find she's not where Sess left her? Hmm, 3 canine demons fighting over rescuing the same girl… should be hairy. All puns intended. And, what's going on with Kagome in the dark? Scary things go bump in the night… Oh, I can't wait to start writing it!

Special thanks to the wonderful readers who reviews chapter 12…

jdeppgirl4 – thank you, I'll try to update more regularly

Miss Kagura – you'll have to wait about why Kagome's sneaky bat demon stalker didn't attack her until the explanation in the next chapter.

Melodi Moon – I hope you survived the long dry spell between chapters. Yes, I survived the Bar and really, REALLY hope I don't have to do that again.

CobaltHeart – I hope this chapter explained what happened to our favorite dog. I also hope you didn't have nightmares from the bat demon that popped up behind Kagome. I just had to do that. I personally have an unreasonable fear of dark windows and rooms, and this just seemed like what I always expect to jump out from the dark. Hehe

Millenium Ring and Winchester – I agree, Kagome seems to get in more trouble when she's alone. Now you know where Sesshy went in the missing day. Thanks for the well wishes for the Bar.

Nameless Little Girl –thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you continue reading. Neat name.

Imuzuok – the official Keeper of the Crickets – I'm glad you are now able to communicate with the crickets. They can be your minions and perform your dirty deeds for you! If I ever start slacking off, or writing sub-standard chapters, feel free to send me a message via carrier-cricket. I'm glad you are still enjoying this story. And I must say you are doing a wonderful job of cricket control!

bluemiko – thank you, and I hope to update more regularly since life has returned to some semblance of normalcy.

Moonflames – I hope this explained where that dog went. I'm sorry to have caused you to go into withdrawal; hopefully this chapter will satisfy your cravings. Thank you for the well wishes for the Bar. I almost wrote Sesshomaru into an answer on the essay part, but my self-preservation gene kicked in and stopped me.

Sesshomaru'sLover911 – I'm trying to keep this story going. I still love it, and get excited just thinking about where I want to end up, and how I can get there. Oh, the things I have in mind. Mwuhuhahaha. Oops, sorry. Like I told someone earlier, sometimes a creative mind is a curse.

Katie33h – I'm glad you enjoyed this story. I hope to update more regularly in the future. About a chapter every week or so. I have 4 stories going, so it's like a round-robin of writing so each story gets the attention it deserves.

Kandy123654 – huh?

Youko's Befuddled Fox – I'll have to look into that story, my bat demon was just a compilation of Shiori's grandfather and a Dracula movie I saw when younger. We won't go into what year it was, because I don't want to feel any older than I already do. Hehe.

TermsOfLIfe – I haven't passed the bar yet. I won't know for 2 months. But I did graduate law school and have this REALLY big piece of paper that says so. ; D I hope this update has satisfied your need for more.

Karin84c – Thank you for the compliment. It does my heart good to hear that people enjoy reading my story, because I really get excited writing it.

Demonlordlover – snort – I liked that line too. And can't you just hear him thinking that? I love delving into the heads of the characters and trying to figure out how things will affect them. His insights into Inuyasha and even Kagome will come in to play later in my Inuverse. Thanks for the well wishes and I'm glad you stuck around for the continuing saga.

Also special thanks to the readers from IYfanguild who upped the hits to this story by almost 500 points over the first weekend it was nominated. WOW!

SQUEAL! I feel so loved!

Please enjoy, review and tell your friends! –wow, I sound like a commercial!


	14. Chapter 14 Carried Away

Inner thoughts in _Italics_ from now on. It just looks and reads better.

Chapter 14

Kagome cowered under her sleeping bag long after the last squeak or click from a bat had vanished into the distance. It didn't matter how sweet and helpful people said bats were because they ate insects. They still freaked her out! And it didn't matter how badly she was sweating under the weight of her sleeping bag, she was not coming out until someone came and got her!

As it was, she must have sweated a bucket out of fear and being overly covered before her heart slowed enough for her to think straight. '_It's dark. It won't matter if I'm under the sleeping bag or not. Nothing can see me that could hurt me… I hope. Besides, I'm getting light headed and need some fresh air.'_

So, slowly, she moved the noisy, nylon sleeping bag down from her head and strained to hear any movement close by that would indicate trouble. Still, it was so dark in the tunnel that she could not tell the difference of when she had her eyes open or not. It was funny, but she still clutched the useless flashlight like a lifeline. _'Could a hunk of plastic be a security blanket?'_

Once again, she tried to spread out her sleeping bag and not be terrified of what could be hidden in the darkness around her. She knew for sure that there was a substantial boulder against her back on the right, and the solid wall of the tunnel at her back on the left. She felt a little more secure sandwiched in like that although only two out of four sides of her were concealed.

Sleep was the farthest thing from her mind as she unzipped the bag and slid in. She almost covered her head again, but opted, instead, to cover up the back of her head, and keep her face uncovered, but facing the corner made by the rock and wall. She tried to remember everything she knew about bats, and the little she had gleaned from the encounter with Shiori and the bat demons. She knew they hunted at night by sound, at least the bug eating bats she had read about did. So, they had really good hearing. _'That made sense, that big ugly bat demon that scared me had huge ears. Maybe my scream hurt his ears enough that it scared him off permanently. But what if it didn't?'_

She thought about hopping her way back to the little cave where she had started. The biggest problem with that was the fact that it had taken her the better part of the day to have made it to where she was sitting. It would take all night to get back. And even if she made it back, what was waiting for her there that wasn't here? It was no more secure than this intersection was from returning demons. The only benefit of returning to the cave would be the sunlight that would filter down tomorrow.

If she remained here at the intersection, at least she would be closer to the exit if Sesshomaru returned to lead her out. With that happy thought in mind, Kagome decided to remain where she was. A quick check of the nightlight on her watch indicated that it was 8:30 and although sleep was still far away, the exertion of the day dragged on her weary body. The symptoms of her fever had returned and she assumed that the infection was again trying to ravage her body.

Maybe if Sesshomaru had not abandoned her or been eaten by some mysterious unseen force, she could ask him, when he returned, to do that "drawing out the poison" thing like he did before. That seemed to help for a while, and it would probably buy her enough time to return to her world and seek stronger medicine or professional help. Still, until he appeared, she knew it was going to be a long, painful night.

She tried to think about anything good about this situation to keep her spirits up. _'Um, at least I'm not stuck in that stupid pile of rubble anymore. I can turn over if I want to. I can stretch my legs if I want to. I won't have to worry about the sun shining in my eyes in the morning. Inuyasha won't be yelling at me to hurry up and cook the Ramen or hunt the jewel shards. I don't have to go to school in the morning.'_ She closed her eyes, and tried to continue her list of good things, but just ended up repeating the same ones over and over like a mantra to keep the boogie man away.

Sometime in the middle of her thoughts about only good things, she managed to drift off to sleep. It was not unheard of for someone in the midst of a crisis to fall asleep after the adrenaline had worn off, or so she kept telling herself when she jerked awake some time later. It was still strange to wake up and not be able to tell if her eyes were open or not. Somehow, it made it seem like she was still sleeping; trapped in that timeless void again. Only this time she didn't want to see anything. She buried her head deeper into the sleeping bag as quietly as possible. There was no way that some nylon shell and polyester batting would protect her from much, but it shielded her from the images of her imagination. This was one time that she wished she hadn't seen so much in this Feudal era, and hadn't listened to her grandfather's stories about ogres and monsters. At this point, she would almost be thankful if Naraku captured her and dragged her out of this nightmare. Almost.

A scraping sound behind her made her stiffen all over. She thought, _'Oh, how I hope that's Sesshomaru. Please let that be Sesshomaru. I'll never say another bad thing about him as long as I live. I won't laugh about him looking like a girl or daydream about his fluff ever again. Please! Or maybe it's Inuyasha? He's not very quiet.' _Still, as much as she was praying that the noise came from Sesshomaru, she knew it had not. The dog demon would never lower himself to make a noise to alert her. He would simply order her to get up and follow. And it couldn't be Inuyasha, because he would have been calling her name the whole way down the tunnel.

Now, she faced the dilemma of pulling her head out of the bag and looking into the dark that her eyes could not penetrate, or staying completely still and hoping that whatever it was would pass her by. Like the brave soul she was, Kagome remained perfectly still to the point of holding her breath. As it turned out, that didn't help any.

Before she could even let out a squeak, she was grasped from behind, bag and all. The world tilted at a strange angle as she was flung around in her blindness. She seemed to be hanging upside down with something much taller than her holding her about the middle. Her self preservation instincts kicked in and she thrashed for all she was worth; arms and legs kicking and flailing. There was some success to these movements as she felt herself slide out of the sleeping bag like toothpaste squirting out of a tube. Unfortunately, the landing on her head stunned her long enough for her attacker to discard the sleeping bag and latch long, cold, spindly fingers onto her arms. Now she was sure this was not Sesshomaru, because his skin had never been cold like this while she was caring for him.

Being Kagome, she opened her mouth to scream. She wasn't sure if she intended to scream for Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, or just to alert the world that she was scared. It didn't matter, because she never got the opportunity. Before she had even drawn a good breath, one of the hands on her arms raised to clamp over her mouth. It seemed that this attacker had learned from the ugly bat that had flown away earlier that she had a very strong, piercing voice.

Then the hand still on her arm wrapped around her waist, and she was hauled off her feet. As she recognized the slight bump of walking, it occurred to Kagome that she was being carried away. How was anyone supposed to find her if this thing kidnapped her? In her head she screamed, _'Why can't things be simple? I'm getting really sick of being kidnapped in this era!' _and without further thought, she bared her teeth and bit the cold hand that stilled her shout for help.

A smile of achievement blossomed on her face as the hand withdrew and she shouted, "Inuyasha!" at the top of her lungs. Behind her, the creature shrieked an equally loud roar of either pain or anger, or both. Then she felt a sharp, tearing pain in her left shoulder that caused her to scream out in pure agony. Knives speared into the flesh of her poor shoulder as the creature returned his hand to her mouth and squeezed her waist to the point of driving all breath from her body. Slowly the knives withdrew from her skin, and it occurred to her that the creature had bitten her in retaliation for either her bite or shout.

A growing burn replaced the sensation of tearing knives in her shoulder as images of vampires raced through her imagination. _'I can't believe it bit me! If you get bitten by a vampire, you turn into a vampire! Don't you? I don't want to be a vampire! I want to lie in the sun and work on my tan! I want to go to the beach for Spring Break! Oh, I swear, if this thing turns me into a vampire, I'm SO gonna bite Sesshomaru for leaving me behind!' _In the complete darkness, she couldn't see what had her, or where they were headed. All she knew was that they were moving, and she started to feel strange.

She noticed the weakness in her body as she could no longer raise her left arm to pry at the hand across her mouth. In heightened desperation, she clawed at the confining hand with her right hand. Slowly, this hand stopped responding to her body's commands also. It was like trying to squeeze something early in the morning, after just waking up. She could move her arms, but they just couldn't do much of anything. It was when her legs went numb and the burning in her shoulder increased that she realized this thing's bite had somehow affected her muscles.

In her mind she was screaming for Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Miroku, Sango, anyone. _'This is bad. They won't be able to find me, and I won't be able to defend myself. This keeps reminding me more and more of Mukotsu. He paralyzed me for his own wicked purposes. I wonder what this thing wants with me. It better not be thinking bride or concubine! I'm sick of being treated like a piece of meat! '_ Kagome could only assume that the thing carrying her was the bat demon that she had scared off before. That was the only type of creature she had seen down here other than that mole demon. And this was definitely not furry enough to be a mole. Speaking of the mole demon, she noticed the awful rotten leaves smell of the mole had increased to an unbearable level. It was also laced with a smell that she totally abhorred; blood.

The creature removed its hand from her mouth since she was no longer able to direct her muscles. In her mind she prayed that the blood she smelled came from the mole and not from a certain tall, white, demon, with a shoulder full of fluff, which had been missing for most of the day. More clicks and squeaks surrounded her as she assumed that there were more of these creatures hidden in the dark.

If she had been able to move a muscle, she would probably have cried over her predicament. As it was, all she could do was experience the disjointed movement of walking as she seemed to float along on a current of sensation in the dark. It seemed like forever when this changed. Somehow, she could tell, by the sounds reflected back at them from the tunnel walls, that they had come to a larger area. She could hear how the room expanded and seemed to echo with thousands of clicks, squeaks and hisses. She felt like she had entered some type of horror movie boiler room. Any minute now, the red lights would come on to reveal the lunatic of choice who would cackle insanely and chase after the heroine with a sickle or chain saw, or something.

Instead, she noticed a blackish-blue glow coming from far away. The light barely backlit a chamber that looked like four tunnels come together. Hundreds of silhouettes of all sizes were scurrying about like ants that had been stirred up. Her current transportation seemed to be moving in the direction of the glow. A familiar tingle started in the back of her mind as she recognized that a jewel shard was in that direction. She thought, _'Well, it's good to know that my jewel sensing abilities are not affected by being paralyzed. I'm sure Inuyasha would be happy to hear that.' _She tried to force her body to snort at the thought, but settled for just thinking about a snort.

The trip across the cavern was quick and uneventful since all the other demons just seemed to separate around them like water around a boulder in a stream. If the sidewalks of Tokyo were this well organized, life would be simpler. No creatures bucked traffic or collided with other demons. It was eerie. But, at least she could see something.

Her sense of fear rose again as the thing carrying her walked straight through the tainted barrier. The pulse of power burned her nerve endings and caused an involuntary grunt to escape her paralyzed lips. She would soon find out what the barrier protected. Though, she couldn't move her head around to see what was there. She just hoped that her head would somehow be turned to face whatever was coming. Because, truthfully, not knowing was worse than seeing what was coming.

They approached a powerful, sickening demon aura that seemed to house the jewel shard that she felt earlier. Just when she thought they were going to pass this monster, the thing carrying her tossed her to the ground like garbage it was happy to discard. Contact with the cave floor was exceptionally painful since she could not use her hands to prevent her face from striking the packed earth and rock. All she could do was lay there and gasp against the pain. She could not even close her mouth to staunch the flow of blood and drool that leaked from her lips. How humiliating.

Above her, a strange staccato hiss grew in volume to the point that it echoed off the rock walls. A loud boom rocked the floor beneath her as a pair of what looked like legs materialized on the edge of her peripheral vision. It was still too dark to make out the details of these legs. She didn't so much see the foot that kicked her over onto her back as she felt the brutal impact. Why couldn't people just be a little gentler?

Her eyes widened in shock at the grotesque figure that towered above her in the shadows. The beautiful face that was bent close to hers did not counteract the disgust that the rest of her distorted body caused in Kagome. Parts of this thing looked like a bat demon and parts looked like a snake had been grafted onto it. Actually, two snakes, since each joint of its wings had snake heads where claws should be, and instead of a single snake tail, it had two that acted like legs. Weird. And there on its neck, a jewel shard emitted a disgusting, sickly black aura.

It was then she noticed the gaping wounds on the legs and wings of this giant bat woman. Kagome's mind whirled to figure out what was going on. _'Had Sesshomaru fought with it? Was that why he had been gone so long? But, this thing was still here and Sesshomaru never came back. Does that mean that this thing won? Is Sesshomaru dead?'_ The thought disturbed her not only because she had been counting on him to rescue her, but because somewhere in the past few days, she had started thinking about him as something close to a friend. Besides, she had gone through hell to keep him alive for Rin's sake! The painful hours she had stayed awake would not be for nothing! She immediately dismissed the unthinkable idea that Sesshomaru was dead. _'Maybe he's around here somewhere, paralyzed like I am. If that's the case, I need to find him and somehow help him. He's been here longer than I have. He might be in worse shape.'_ The fact that Sesshomaru would probably have been immune to any paralyzing poison never even entered her shocked mind.

The giant female produced the strange staccato hiss which turned out to be this things laughter. _'Hm, this thing must have been hanging from the roof when I was brought in. I wonder what it wants with me.'_

One of the snake-head hands reached for Kagome's arm and grasped her in its open mouth. The fangs of the snake plunged into her tender skin and she desperately wanted to scream at the pain. Just as quickly, the fangs were removed and the snake-head actually spat her blood out of its mouth. Kagome thought through the pain, _'Well, jeez! I didn't know I tasted that bad. I can't help it that I haven't had a bath in days! _

The giant bat opened its mouth and shrieked at the smaller bat that had carried her in. "This blood is tainted with human sickness and unfit to be consumed! How could you have brought such a foul meal to your queen?" The smaller, bat that was still nearly seven feet tall, cowered before the enormous queen and made no noise to respond to the accusation. Instead, the snake-head on her wing reached out and latched onto the bat demon's neck and almost instantaneously drained the blood out of the smaller male. With a simple flick of her snake wrist, the queen tossed the lifeless body outside the barrier and roared with displeasure.

Kagome could only watch in pain and shock as this queen brutalized her own kind. Outside the barrier, a team of other demons picked up the discarded body and whisked it away like they practiced this all the time. Her mind screamed, _'Eww! Gross! If she treats her own this badly, what are the chances she'll be nice to me. Slim to none. I guess I was supposed to be the late night snack. I wonder what she'll do with me now.'_

The queen paced about the chamber that was only lit by the sickening black glow from the tainted barrier at the entrance and grumbled in a language Kagome couldn't understand. While the thing paced, Kagome tried to close her eyes against the fear, pain and uncertainty that assaulted her. As she soon discovered, the paralysis even extended to her eyelids. Whereas she could still blink, she could not control the frequency of her blinks.

Finally, the queen deigned to address Kagome in a voice she could understand. The beautifully formed mouth released the most grating voice she had ever had the misfortune of hearing, "Human, you may be useless for your blood, but you will still serve me." A great pause hung in the air as the queen folded up her snake like legs and knelt next to Kagome's side. "Your dog injured me and my workers. Much energy was expended to repair the damage he caused. You will replenish the energy lost when I consume your soul." The hissing laughter broke around them like waves on the shore and made Kagome feel a bit sick to her stomach. "The poison circulating in your system will release the bonds that bind your soul to your body making it easier to consume. When this is complete, you will have the honor of feeding me and my young." With another hissing fit of laughter, the queen rose to her snake-tail feet and flapped her grotesque wings to her resting place on the ceiling. The grating voice floated down from the darkness, "Rest well human. It will make your soul even tastier."

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Sesshomaru was angry that the stupid wolf prince still followed him. He was even more enraged that he had forgotten the state of his wardrobe. In all the time trapped underground, he had not considered the possibility of others catching him wearing Kagome's loaned clothing. There was nothing dignified about the garments and he had a sinking suspicion that the wretched wolf behind him would be gossiping about this for weeks. Wolves were notorious gossips. He assumed it had to do with the "traveling in packs" mentality. Everybody had to know everybody else's business.

His only hope for redemption lie in the fact that Ah-Uh would most likely be the first individual he would encounter. The wolf didn't count, he was a parasite! It would only take a moment to retrieve his spare clothing from the saddlebag and all would be well with the world again. If not, he decided he would simply have to slaughter or threaten to slaughter all who would witness his embarrassment. Maybe he could just melt their mouths closed? He decided that if Inuyasha caught him dressed like this, it would be the end of the oldest living half-breed, no matter what vows Sesshomaru's Father had extracted from him.

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At that moment in the chilly darkness of late night, or was it early morning, Inuyasha wished that the dragon of his brother's could fly just a bit faster. This thing was good for hauling around supplies and luggage, but it lacked something in speed. Even Miroku could run faster than this great lumbering beast could fly. The only good thing about this mode of transportation was that it allowed them to rest a bit. Still, Kirara was flying slowly along side the reptile, using up her precious energy.

Finally in a fit of frustration, Inuyasha turned to the toad behind him and rapped him on the skull. This woke Jakken in his usual squawking, undignified, manner. After a few minutes of name calling and spitting indignation, from both of them, Inuyasha announced his decision. "This ain't getting us nowhere fast! You and the kid can keep flying towards the battleground and we'll meet you there. We're going to run ahead and start the search again." Inuyasha stood up on the saddle and looked heatedly at the nasty green imp. In his most stern voice, which sounded suspiciously like a threat from Sesshomaru, he warned Jakken, "And don't get in any trouble while I'm gone. If that prick's still living, he'd kill you if you let that girl get hurt." And with that parting comment, Inuyasha leapt off the dragon and soared towards the forest canopy below them.

Kirara swiftly changed course and followed the red robed blur towards the forest floor. The change in direction jolted Sango and Miroku awake and they stiffened into defensive postures. The tightened hold of Miroku's arm on Shippo woke the little fox and he scrambled around trying to figure out what had changed. His whiney little voice called out, "Inuyasha, what are we doing? Why did we leave Rin and the dragon? I thought the dragon was going to lead us to Sesshomaru?"

Inuyasha's voice called out from the trees, "That damn beast was flying slower than you when you're a pink bubble! We just can't waste anymore time sitting around. We need to keep looking for Kagome. They'll meet us at the battleground and we'll go from there. Chances are Sesshomaru will come find us."

Shippo was insulted about the comment on his slow flying and was about to yell at the half demon when Miroku moved a hand to cover the small mouth. In a quiet, soothing voice, Miroku suggested, "Now might not be a good time to anger Inuyasha. We all know how worried he is about Kagome even if he can't say it and we really don't need him to lose control now. I'm sure you can exact your revenge for his slight against your skills at a later time, when Kagome is safe and around to sit him for you. Besides, a wise man once said 'Revenge is a dish best served cold.'"

The wicked little grin on the monk's face made Shippo want to laugh. There were times that Shippo swore Miroku was truly a fox demon in disguise. The human male was wily, intelligent and quite mischievous. Even his own father could not pull off a lie as well as this supposed holy man could. And then there was that whole perversion act of his. Fox demons were known to be quite sensual beings and enjoyed sex with many partners before mating. Yup! Shippo was convinced that Miroku was really a fox demon in disguise, or perhaps the reincarnation of a great fox demon. In Shippo's mind, reincarnation had never been real until he met Kagome. Now that it was a proven fact, it wasn't much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that demons could be reincarnated too. So, with a devious smile of his own, Shippo silently plotted ways to get back at Inuyasha for the insult and to watch the monk for more signs of fox demon traits.

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After the two-headed dragon's burden had been lightened, the pack animal changed heading slightly. Jakken shouted at the creature and demanded an explanation for the change. Behind him, Rin shifted slightly in her sleep and rubbed a tired eye. "Master Jakken, maybe Ah-Uh knows where Lord Sesshomaru is and is taking us there? After all, Lord Inuyasha was not looking for Lord Sesshomaru, but for Lady Kagome. Maybe they aren't together."

Jakken yelled at Rin to shut up because he could think of nothing else to say. Also, the toad knew he had no control over the dragon. It was his master's beast of burden, and only took orders from the lord. The only reason the traitorous animal ever listened to him was if it was something that Lord Sesshomaru would want. There was no telling how many times he had tried to get the dragon to follow him away while the ugly human child slept. It seemed to know that would anger their lord and refused to be lead away, much to Jakken's anger. There were even times that Jakken had to wonder if the two-headed monstrosity could read minds. Maybe that was how it could find their lord when they were separated. But, no, that would be giving the animal too much credit for intelligence, and the toad would not think that. Instead, the smelly green imp stood up on the saddle and called out Lord Sesshomaru's name into the swiftly ending night.

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Sesshomaru made good progress towards the clearing above the cave where he expected to retrieve Kagome. His mind worked furiously on the problem of how to extract the girl without caving in the weak ceiling structure. Possibly he could shore up the opening below the hole that allowed light in, and then lift out the capstone boulders that supported the domed structure. Maybe he could access the collapsed tunnel and dig his way in from that location. Then again, there was always the chance that he could fuse the shifting substrata of soil and rock into a stable mass with his poison. But this idea had substantial risks. He had not attempted such an experiment. There was no way to determine the outcome. Again, he realized that he was not willing to lose such a curiosity as Kagome now that he had found someone who piqued his interest. He would just have to analyze the situation when he arrived and formulate a plan then.

The wolf still trailed behind him, much to his annoyance, and seemed determined to continue their training session. The idea of whipping this adolescent wolf like he used to do Inuyasha brought an evil grin to his shadowed face. Who knew, maybe he could train this wolf to be more of a challenge for Inuyasha. He would love to see his half-brother's face if the next time he battled the wolf, they were more evenly matched. Of course, this wolf would never equal the might and power that were inherent in their Father's bloodline. Even diluted as Inuyasha's blood was, the boy was more than a match for most full-blooded demons. For that matter, if Inuyasha mated and produced quarter-blood pups, they would still probably be stronger than most full-blooded demons once properly trained. Such was the legacy of their Father.

For a moment, his thoughts turned to the questions the girl asked about the reproductive capability of half-breeds, and he wondered if Inuyasha would be able to father pups someday. There must have been some knowledge that Kagome knew from the future that made her doubt this ability. She had mentioned horses being bred with some other animal that created sterile offspring. How distressing. He had always just assumed that if the boy lived long enough, he would find a suitably strong female, most likely human, and raise the next generation of partial dog demons. It was a shame that their Father's blood would forever be diluted more and more by each successive generation, but such was their fate. Absently, he wondered how many generations down history it would be before their strong blood no longer manifested its power in the offspring. And if, Kami forbid, he, Sesshomaru, ever took a human mate, his own offspring would suffer the same fate.

His thoughts were disturbed as from the North, Sesshomaru sensed the approach of three familiar auras that caused the tiniest sigh to escape him. Long before he could see the shape of his dragon descending through the lightening sky, his sensitive hearing could detect the annoying voice of his vassal shouting his name. With a long-suffering shake to his head, the demon wondered how it was that no hungry flying demons had swooped down on the idiot who was announcing his presence to the world. But then again, with Jakken's smell, most demons who were advanced enough to take flight would avoid the toad; except for vulture demons. They seemed to enjoy dead things, and sometimes carrion smelled better than the imp.

With a ground-shaking thump, the great two-headed dragon landed directly before its master. Both heads lowered in a bow of submission and respect as the little girl on its back launched herself at the dog demon. Her squeal of "Lord Sesshomaru!" was filled with such joy and excitement, it almost made Sesshomaru smile. Whereas Jakken was a groveling mess, this girl always greeted his return with joy. Again, he could easily see Rin as an energetic puppy whose master had just returned to play fetch with it. It had taken much training to prevent the girl from latching onto his person at every return. So, now, she ran before him and stood a few feet away, an enormous smile beaming up into his face. "Welcome back Lord Sesshomaru. Rin is happy you are well."

Sesshomaru spoke in his usual calm voice, "Have you faired well, Rin?" He knew this simple question was enough to open up the flood gates of chatter that the girl held inside. As expected, she regaled him with all their adventures and exploits from the days of his absence. He seemed indifferent, but he truly listened closely to ensure Jakken had performed his duty.

As the girl rambled, Sesshomaru addressed the toad on the ground, "Jakken, bring my spare clothes." It was at that point that the imp looked up and shouted in indignation, "My Lord! What are you doing wearing those horrible human clothes? What happened to your lovely outfit and armor?"

Sesshomaru turned cold, cruel eyes on his vassal and threatened, "You dare comment on my attire, Jakken? You will bring the clothes as ordered and never speak of this again. Is that understood?"

The little green lump nearly swallowed his tongue as he verbally back-tracked and scrambled towards the dragon. "Yes, my lord. Forgive me, Lord Sesshomaru. You look regal in any material that touches your royal self. I swear to never speak of these foreign garments ever again."

With a smirk, Sesshomaru reached the edge of the trees and waited for his usual clothes to be brought to him. It would be nice to look like himself again. Especially with the smelly wolf nearing their location. This was a wonderful stroke of luck to avoid Inuyasha seeing him in Kagome's clothes. Still, it might have been amusing to watch the boy's reactions. It could probably be used to taunt him in a future sparring match, that his brother's priestess had given him clothes to wear. On second thought, Sesshomaru decided to remain in these futuristic clothes simply for the shock value to Inuyasha and his group. Having lived so long, the dog demon decided he must take his amusement where he could.

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AN: Now don't get spoiled with two updates in one week. I just had all this unused creativity screaming to get out. Lol Cookies next chapter for this and chapter 13.

Please review. If review numbers start dropping off, it makes me think you guys don't like the chapter. Don't make me beg… I'll whip out the puppy dog eyes and the cute pout!


	15. Chapter 15 Almost all Together

Chapter 15

Morning was staining the Eastern sky with its increasing light as the band of Kagome hunters landed at the devastated battlefield where they had last seen their friend. Inuyasha landed first and simply stood and surveyed the area. Nothing had changed. The trees were still toppled and shattered. The ground was still scorched and blackened. The crater was still devastated and quiet.

The morning mist had settled at the bottom of the gouge in the earth, and for only a moment, he swore he saw a white, ghostly form of Kagome floating there. He gasped as his eyes grew huge and he shook his head in denial. Then, the wisp blew gently away and nothing was left but blackened, shifting soil.

Behind him, Kirara landed with a growl and the others climbed off her back. Inuyasha refused to pull his eyes away from the crater until he had gotten himself under control. The days of searching had taken a toll on everyone and he would not fall to pieces now. This was their last good lead. If this didn't work out, he would be forced to find that crappy wolf and try the monk's idea of using the jewel to track her.

Shippo was still perched on Miroku's shoulder and sniffed the air delicately. In his best whisper that would not carry, he informed the monk, "Something's wrong. Inuyasha smells scared."

Miroku approached his red-robed friend and smiled reassuringly, "Inuyasha, don't worry. This will work. We'll find Kagome as soon as that dragon gets here. You know she's too stubborn to allow herself to be hurt. Besides, she couldn't go a week without sitting you." When there was no response from the thoughtful half-demon, Miroku gestured with his staff towards the great crater and tried to lighten his mood, "This almost looks like some of the craters you make when Kagome's really angry and sits you 'to the center of the earth.'"

This last comment received the response Miroku had been seeking. Inuyasha grunted out a huff and turned to the monk, "I ain't worried about that wench. It's just that she has the jewel shards on her, and she always gets them stolen when she's not with us. Besides, if she's with my bastard brother, I'm sure she's giving him a hard time, which would make all this worth the trouble." An evil little smirk crossed Inuyasha's face as he imagined Kagome giving Sesshomaru hell, and trying to sit his half-brother. There might have even been a few purification arrows flying at Sesshomaru in these fanciful imaginings. Kagome had struck him before. Who knew what she could be capable of?

With the sorrowful mood dispelled a bit, Sango made preparations to start breakfast while the guys went out to hunt and fish. She tried to fight the depressing thoughts that swirled in her head at the possible fate of her best friend, but it was hard. And every day, the fight to stay optimistic grew harder. This was worse than the situations with Kohaku, because, at least, with her brother, she could rest assured that Naraku would not dispose of the boy while he was useful. As long as there were shards unaccounted for, Sango assumed Kohaku would be safe. With Kagome, it was the fear of the unknown that was killing them all.

After a meal of grilled fish and berries, Inuyasha began pacing about the clearing, and ranting. "Where is that damn dragon? What's taking them so long? I swear, if that Jakken got them into trouble when he knew we were waiting for them, I'll rip him to pieces so small no one will ever find them!" As he made circles, he took swipes at the downed trees left from their battle with Hakudoshi. Soon, there was enough firewood to supply Kaede's village for an entire winter. Miroku and Sango only watched and shook their heads. At least their friend got out his aggressions on something other than them.

Nearby, Shippo was wandering around, sniffing conspicuously. He kept walking towards the crater, then veering off to the side, as if he were afraid to enter the hole. Finally, Inuyasha noticed this weird behavior and marched over to the little fox. "What the hell are you doing over here, Shippo?"

Shippo startled because he had been concentrating so hard that he had not noticed the approach of the half-demon. "Argh! Don't sneak up on people like that!" As the fox put a hand to his chest to help slow his breathing, the boy explained, "I keep smelling Kagome, but it's not strong. I don't know if I'm just imagining it, but I catch a whiff of her scent around here, but it's not coming from the crater. And it's not old enough to be from the fight. It smells newer than that. But I don't know. I'm not very good with tracking yet." His hopeful green eyes turned to the taller half-demon and pleaded, "Do you think you could take a look, Inuyasha?"

Miroku, Sango and Kirara heard this interaction, and rose from their little cook fire to approach the pair. Inuyasha looked like he was going to deny the request, but turned and started walking around where Shippo indicated. The boy explained, "I was about here when I started smelling just a bit of Kagome's scent. Can you smell it?" Inuyasha closed his eyes and sniffed. Then, he squatted down to Shippo's level and sniffed again. His voice was somber and quiet when he responded, "Yea. I smell it. And you're right. It's fresher than the day of the fight. But, it's still a day or two old." The two of them started walking slowly around that area as Shippo continued, "But, when I walk away, in any direction, it disappears. How can a scent be that fresh, and just vanish? Shouldn't there be a trail to show where she went if she was here? Or is it just something that smells like her was here?"

Inuyasha frowned as he tried to think this all out. "I don't think it could just be something of hers. It wouldn't leave such a strong scent." He walked back to the area where they had started and got down on all fours like a dog, sniffing the ground. "If she walked away, there would be a trail. But if she was flown out, it wouldn't be on the ground. You know that. Still, this scent smells a little funny. I can smell traces of blood, and something else." Inuyasha did his blood hound thing while Shippo imitated him, but not in a mocking manner. They zeroed in on a small patch of grass just to the edge of the crater and sat down on their rumps there in confusion. It was the closest they had been to Kagome's scent in days, and it calmed both of them to smell the trace.

After a few more minutes of deep thought, Shippo stood up and stomped around in a tantrum of frustration and tears. "I don't get it. Where could she be? Why can't we find her? I miss Kagome! There has to be…ARGH!" and the fox toppled over.

Everyone jumped up to see what had happened to Shippo. Inuyasha was the first to reach him, and plucked the boy up from the ground. Shippo leaned over and rubbed his right leg as he glared back at the ground where he had fallen, "Stupid rabbit holes! Always tripping me up when I'm not expecting it!" In an uncharacteristic move, Inuyasha crossed his legs and sat on the ground to look at Shippo's ankle for any damage. Little kids could break their legs stepping into holes like that.

It was at that moment that Inuyasha and Shippo both noticed the same thing. Kagome's scent had gotten stronger. In unison, the two turned to stare at the little chuck hole that had snagged Shippo's foot. Was it possible? Inuyasha moved so quickly that his hair actually fluttered like it was blown by a strong wind. Before anyone could blink, he had his nose shoved as far down that little hole as he could get. He shouted, "This is where her smell is coming from. I can smell her plain as day! KAGOME! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Then he turned his head and placed one fuzzy ear to the hole to listen for any type of response.

Shippo scrambled to shove his way closer under the dog's body as he moved his own little ear to the hole. He strained his whole body to hear any call from his friend, but his own pounding heart was the only thing he heard. He added his frantic call to the effort, "KAGOME! WE'RE HERE! SAY SOMETHING!"

Frantic, Inuyasha stood up and looked around. He called, "Miroku, Sango, she's down here!" His mind was centered on only one thought; getting down that hole and finding his friend. How long has she been trapped down there while they had searched diligently? Was she okay? Why didn't she answer?

Just as Inuyasha was about to shove a clawed hand through that hole and start digging his way down, a loud thump shook the ground under the group. Inuyasha swirled with his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to repel any attack now that they were this close to finding Kagome.

Before them was the two-headed dragon they had waited on, along with Rin, Jakken, and a strange looking Sesshomaru. The demon lord gracefully slid off the saddle of his pack animal and strolled towards the group. He spoke with authority as he informed them, "You can not just dig up the ground, Inuyasha, or you will cause another cave in. The ceiling of the cave below is very unstable. One wrong move and the structure will collapse."

Inuyasha wanted nothing more than to shout profanities at his brother for chastising him like he was a lackey. But, his mouth stopped working and only hung open as he took note of what his brother was wearing. His legs were encased in blue, fuzzy pants that reached only half way down his calves, showing his white legs at the top of his boots. And his top sported a blue and black plaid shirt that hugged his body tighter than anything they had ever seen.

These were clothes like people from Kagome's time wore. The Sesshomaru he knew and loathed would never lower himself to wear anything other than his precious ensemble! Was this possibly a future Sesshomaru who had come back through time like Kagome did? It would be horribly unfair to have two asshole brothers taunting him in this era! This might be a trick. Inuyasha growled and shouted, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Miroku, Sango and Shippo just stood about in shock as well, instead of striking a defensive stance. Even Miroku, who was normally so diplomatic and well spoken, was at a complete loss for words. While this strange Sesshomaru did not look quite as deadly without his trademark outfit and armor, he still looked intimidating in blue plaid.

The group's reactions were everything Sesshomaru had hoped for. It was a fight to keep the smirk off his face and the snicker out of his voice. Sesshomaru's face shown with nothing more than disdain as he commented, "Surely, little brother, even your pathetic sense of smell should recognize who I am. Even that mangy wolf recognized this Sesshomaru despite the unusual attire."

In a cautious move, Inuyasha scented the air to determine the identity of this strange demon. The frown deepened as he recognized Kagome's smell coming from the direction of his brother. '_Okay, so not a future Sesshomaru, and he's been around Kagome. But, if that's so, where is she?" _

Sesshomaru was silently laughing in his mind as Inuyasha said almost the identical thing that the brainless wolf had uttered. "What the hell are you wearing, Sesshomaru, and why do you smell like Kagome?" There was a pause, and then Inuyasha's face turned even redder, "Hey, I recognize those clothes. Those are Kagome's! What are you doing with them? You better not have hurt her! And, where the Hell have you been these past few days?" After totally losing any composure he might have had before, Inuyasha drew his katana and brandished it at the strangely dressed demon.

Before the hot-headed half demon could attack, Miroku moved swiftly to block the ensuing action as he spoke calmly, "Wait, Inuyasha. Wouldn't it be better to hear what Lord Sesshomaru has to say before attacking him?" The monk turned a concerned look back to the demon and asked, "What was this about causing another cave in?"

Sesshomaru glanced at the holy man. Did he truly feel like answering? It would be easier to just tell this band of misfits what they needed to do to retrieve the priestess so he could be relieved of the duty to rescue her. Whereas he felt honor bound to repay her for saving Rin, he detested the idea of teaming up with these idiots. Sesshomaru explained, "Your priestess is below in a small cave that opened up during the battle. The ceiling is loosely held together. Any attempt to dig will weaken the structure and cause a collapse."

Inuyasha snarled, "Well, you got out somehow. Why didn't you take Kagome with you?

Shippo who was perched on Sango's shoulder glared at the taller demon. His childish voice yelled out, "You left her there and saved yourself? How could you?" Shippo shuddered under the force of the gaze of the tall demon and stuttered, "Kagome's scent is coming from there, but she doesn't answer when we call." The little fox hopped off his perch and scuttled over to the patch of grass.

Sesshomaru simply walked towards where the fox was still kneeling by the rabbit hole and stated, "It seems that you found the air hole to the cave." Although his outward appearance spoke of disinterest, in his head he was mulling over the fact that the fox said Kagome did not answer their call. What had happened while he had been detained? Had she gotten ill again? Had she been attacked by the demons that had evaded him?

Behind them, Miroku asked, "If you please, Lord Sesshomaru, how are you not with Kagome? Weren't you trapped together?"

The great demon did not bother gracing the monk with his attention and merely spoke to the group in general as he kept his eyes on the air hole. "An exit was not present. I went in search of one, and we were separated."

Inuyasha was practically foaming at the mouth as he gripped Tetsusaiga's hilt and stomped over towards his half-brother, "You left Kagome alone! How could you? She could be hurt!" Even Koga was getting angry at imagining Kagome alone, injured and scared in the dark.

Sesshomaru struck a pose of disinterest and stroked his Mokomoko-sama. He would have to bathe soon. "I ordered her to stay and tend her wounds."

Shippo whined in distress, "What wounds?!" At the same moment, Inuyasha went off on a rant, "You ORDERED her to stay? Are you CRAZY! Kagome never does anything she's told to! She hates to sit around and feel useless. Hell, I can't even get the twit to stay out of dangerous battles. Feh! You think she's going to obey YOU; someone who has tried to kill her numerous times? How long ago was this?" By the time Inuyasha was done stomping about, he was inches away from his brother's face.

Sesshomaru looked down at his fuming brother and wondered if the boy had taken leave of his senses in his worry over the girl. Inuyasha never got within striking distance without swinging his sword. It would only take a single swipe to decapitate the boy, and his reflexes were no where near fast enough to avoid the strike. That was, if he were in such a mood. Instead, the demon merely sniffed in boredom, "It was only yesterday morning that we parted ways. Surely she would remain where this Sesshomaru put her for that short a period of time. Do not all humans follow the orders of their superiors?"

Miroku decided to join the discussion in hopes of reducing the angry electricity crackling in the air around the two dogs. With hands turned up and outward as if to ward off any anger he explained, "Well, you see, Kagome is different. She does not truly recognize anyone as her superior. She sees everyone as equals, and affords them respect. As to following orders, Kagome does not simply obey unless she understands the need for an action. She is quite an independent thinker."

Shippo was beside himself with worry and pulling on his hair with both hands. He was still whining, "A whole day! Lord knows what could have happened in a day. She could be kidnapped! Or sick! Or dead!" His little worried green eyes turned towards his sometimes hero, "You don't really think she's hurt, do you Inuyasha? Is that why she didn't answer our calls?"

Inuyasha turned away from his unmoving brother and crossed his arms and closed his eyes in disgust. "Nah, runt. She probably got bored of waiting on his 'highness' and decided to find her own exit." He then moved back towards the patch of grass that hid the little air hole. It helped to be able to smell her scent. It reminded him that she was near, and hopefully, they would be reunited soon.

Sango knelt down beside the worried little fox and petted his hair. In her best reassuring voice she added, "You know our Kagome's horrible sense of direction. She probably wandered off and got lost and is waiting for us to find her." Shippo turned his green eyes to look at the slight smile on Sango's face, and he couldn't help a little grin. It was true. Kagome could get lost on a straight trail. The four of them had a secret pact to keep an eye on their directionally challenged friend when she went wandering.

"Typical weak human!" Snorted out from the kneeling half demon who was studying the ground around the air hole.

Shippo launched himself at the half dog's head and began pulling on his ears as he shouted, "You shut up Inuyasha! She's not typical and she's not weak! She's the greatest person I know!" Inuyasha managed to get a grip on the squirming fox and threw him to the ground with a roar and threats of imminent doom. A few minutes of ring-around-the-crater ensued before Inuyasha slid to a stop in a huge cloud of dust. Shippo stopped and turned back to his pursuer once he realized the dog had stopped and was just staring at the trees, growling, with his hand on Tetsusaiga.

As if things weren't difficult enough with one hated enemy present, Inuyasha couldn't believe his horrible luck. The disgust was practically dripping off his voice as he ranted, "Oh great! Just great! Koga's here. That's all we need. Another jackass to slow us down. I swear monk, if he tries to take over this rescue, I'll skin him and turn him into a coat!"

With his usual swagger, Koga materialized out of the tree line and saluted the group. "Yo! Mutt-face. Where is my woman, and why did you let her hang around this loser?" Koga pointed over to the great white demon, that was still wearing blue and black plaid. Koga's previously friendly tone darkened to an accusation as he questioned, "I thought you were protecting her?"

Ignoring the aggravating wolf and his accusations, Inuyasha turned his back and walked back towards the air hole. In his best imitation of Sesshomaru's cold disdain, Inuyasha called back over his shoulder, "Koga, now is so not the time for this! I'll kill you later, but we're kinda busy now. Why don't you run along and play with your little wolfy friends?"

As much as Sesshomaru was enjoying these bizarre pack interactions, he decided there were plenty of people present to rescue one small woman. With determination, he pivoted on his heel and walked in the direction of his dragon and pack. "Well, Inuyasha, since it seems you have all this well under control, I shall take my leave."

Inuyasha leapt into the path of his half-brother and yelled in his face, "Oh, no you don't. You ain't going anywhere until we find Kagome safe and alive. You're the reason she's down there in the first place. She was protecting your little girl. And if she's not there, you're gonna help us find her." He was practically spitting by the end of his outburst.

Still, Sesshomaru hoped to avoid any more involvement by insulting the boy into letting him go, "Are your tracking skills so pitiful Inuyasha that you can not accomplish such a simple task?" Then he waited for the explosion that usually accompanied such an insult to the boy's abilities. Sadly, it never came.

A huge grin broke out on Inuyasha's face as he laughed, "Heh! I ain't taking the bait this time. You owe her. Besides, I get the feeling that there's something you ain't telling us." The boy then stared down at the strange clothes that his brother was sporting. Inuyasha had seen Kagome huddled in that very shirt on unusually cold nights, and knew it did not normally have demon blood on it or rips in it.

Koga sauntered over to the other canines and added his thoughts, "Yea, I was wondering why dog breath was dressed so funny. That and the smells of weird demons and dirt are all over him." He leaned a bit closer and loudly sniffed at the strange clothes to make his point. Still, he remained outside the range of those deadly claws.

He realized there was little chance out of the current situation, so Sesshomaru glared down his nose at the wolf and half demon that were unwittingly teaming up against him. "This Sesshomaru dispatched a nest of bat and snake demons in the search for the exit. Unfortunately, in the battle, several tunnels collapsed and I could not retrace my steps to retrieve the woman."

Sango was through letting these testosterone crazed males argue over unimportant issues. Her shout started out loud and only got more eardrum piercing, "You mean, you LEFT her down there, INJURED, and there are DEMONS roaming around? Are you crazy? Those jewel shards will attract attention no matter where she is!" She turned her worried gaze to the only male who seemed capable of rational thought at the moment. "Miroku, how are we going to get down there? If we can't go through the ceiling, maybe we could dig down beside it and come in from the side?"

As the other males regrouped and wandered back towards the air hole, Miroku knelt down to inspect the opening. His voice was calm and thoughtful as he stated, "That would take a lot of time to dig that far. Maybe I could drop a sutra down this hole and create a barrier that will keep the ceiling up while we dig?"

Shippo's eyes shone with hope as he jumped up and down with enthusiasm, "I could transform into a mouse, and carry it down the hole. That way, we could know for sure that it was set up properly."

The monk patted the excited kit on the head and fished through the sleeves of his robe. "That's a good idea Shippo! Here is a sutra. Place it on the floor in the center of the cave and get out of the way."

"Right, here I go!" The fox shouted just before he placed a leaf on his head and transformed in a poof. When the smoke cleared, he was a rather deformed mouse-like creature, but definitely small enough to fit down the hole. He shouted in a squeaky voice, "Don't worry Kagome! I'm coming." Then disappeared down the hole.

Inuyasha called down in a voice laced with impatience, "Can you see anything?"

A second poof was heard, then Shippo's little voice echoed up through the hole, "Yea, there's no one here!"

Inuyasha rounded on his brother and berated him. "See, you idiot! How could you just leave her alone!"

As if explaining simple things to a toddler, Sesshomaru stated, "No human has ever dared to disobey this Sesshomaru's orders!" In his mind, he thought that if he had given Rin such an order, he would find her in the exact spot years from the day he had placed her there. Either Rin was an oddity for her obedience, or Kagome was an oddity for her independence. Sesshomaru was not willing to invest the time necessary to consider such a topic just now.

"Well, Kagome isn't just an ordinary human. Weren't you listening?" Inuyasha crossed his arms and looked at his brother like he was a complete idiot. It always seemed that the older demon only heard what he wanted to hear.

Finally getting agitated, Sesshomaru's voice rose from its bored pitch to an agitated tone, "Enough, whelp. If you are going to force me to assist you, then let us proceed."

Shippo placed the sutra in what appeared to be the center of the cavern, and transformed to scurry back out of the little air hole. Miroku folded his legs under him in a meditation position a few feet away from the opening. With his eyes closed and his staff across his lap, he began chanting. The air hummed around him, and everyone waited for the signal that the barrier had been erected.

Even thought the monk was praying and concentrating, Inuyasha knew that he could still carry a conversation. He had witnessed this when he had been injured and Miroku and Kaede had locked him in that shed, and created a barrier to make the shed invisible. It had annoyed the half demon to no end that the two could talk like they weren't expending any energy to maintain the barrier. In a curious voice, Inuyasha asked, "So, we're just going to dig like dogs until we reach the barrier?"

Not even opening his eyes, the monk answered, "Well, Inuyasha, it's not like you can use Tetsusaiga. That would be faster, but it would probably collapse my barrier. Then where would we be." Then he returned to chanting with one hand held up before his mouth.

Aggravated that he couldn't use his favorite sword attack, Inuyasha turned angrily towards Koga and Sesshomaru, "Well, if I'm gonna dig, so is wolf boy. Oh, and Sesshomaru….. could you please put some real clothes on? You're weirding me out dressed like that. I just can't take you seriously looking and smelling like a human from Kagome's home."

The demon lord stiffened slightly at the insult to his person. Remaining in these futuristic clothes had not been quite as enjoyable as he had hoped. Though, the boy's face had been priceless. Too bad those fun moments could not last longer. With a spin to face his pack again, Sesshomaru called over his shoulder, "I shall change. You may begin digging without me."

Ten minutes had not even passed before the canines again began squabbling amongst themselves. Of course, Koga started it. He just seemed to be incapable of being near Inuyasha without starting something. Sesshomaru had finished changing and returned to the crater to hear the posturing begin. Maybe there would be some redeeming humor to arise from this situation after all.

Koga taunted, "Come on dog-turd, I bet I can dig faster than you can. I want to save my Kagome." The fluffy, brown tail wagged gently behind the powerful legs of the wolf demon as he waited for the signal from the monk.

Inuyasha snorted and knelt down beside the grass hiding the air hole in a posture that resembled a cat about to pounce on its prey. "Yea, in your dreams, you mangy wolf. Dogs are the best diggers in the world."

Koga laughed and crouched on his own haunches a few feet away from Inuyasha, "Nah, dogs are just wolves that have gone soft from hanging around humans too long. Ow! Hey, what did you do that for?" All heads turned to see Koga leap up and spin to face a smirking Sesshomaru who had crept up silently behind the wolf. Not knowing what the wolf was ranting about, all eyes searched the fur clad man to find a smoking stripe of black across his butt and tail. Koga's hands involuntarily moved to cover and guard his injured rump.

With a gentle flick of his wrist, Sesshomaru retracted the glowing whip that hung from his fingertips. "You should hold your tongue. Or should I repeat your training session from earlier to determine just who has gone soft?"

Laughter erupted from Inuyasha at the sight of Koga getting whipped, literally. "Training? So, Koga, you went up against my brother, did you? Hehehe I would have loved to see that. I bet he had you whimpering in five minutes." The image of that battle played in Inuyasha's imagination and left an evil smirk on the boy's face.

Sesshomaru walked past the cringing wolf to take a position in the circle around the air hole, "It's more like wolves are just dogs who have forgotten how to fight…. or bathe, for that matter." Miroku and Sango smiled secretly at each other as they realized that the two brothers, that were usually bitter enemies, had teamed up to humiliate the wolf in their midst.

Shippo shuffled into the middle of the posturing males and pointed towards Miroku, "Um, guys, shouldn't we stop arguing and start digging? Miroku said the barrier was up. We've got to find Kagome, remember?" So, with the subtle reminder of why they were here, the three canine males began gently excavating a hole that would hopefully lead them to Kagome.

The digging proceeded quickly and uneventfully. Sango even offered the help of Hiraikotsu to lever up the large slabs of rock that hindered the digging. Though Miroku assured them that the barrier was holding the ceiling up, they were careful to not allow debris to fall into the hole. Soon, they had an opening about the size of a well that reached down six feet into the ground. Inuyasha stopped a moment and wiped his brow with his kimono sleeve. "Hey, Shippo, how much farther before we reach the cave?" The little voice sounded from behind him, "It was about ten feet thick, I think. It was hard to tell since I was so small."

Inuyasha turned to look behind him and found the kit lying down on a pile of dirt, with his hands under his head. "I don't see you doing any digging Shippo. Why is that?"

Shippo's voice was rather sarcastic as he explained, "I just can't get around all your big butts otherwise I'd be halfway done by none."

Another game of ring-around-the-dig-site ensued as Inuyasha shouted, "Big butts! I'll show you who has big butts! You'll have a big head when I'm done pounding on it!" Shippo was laughing and scampering about. "Haha Inuyasha. You've got to catch me first!" Then the fox pulled out another leaf, held it to his head, and transformed into the mutated rat again. Quicker than they could blink, the boy vanished down the air hole.

Inuyasha shook his fist at the air hole as he ranted, "Get back up here you runt!" Nothing coherent answered him, only laughing and taunting. The others still above ground only shook their heads. In the middle of something as serious as a rescue operation, it was shocking how side-tracked the two youngest could get. Well, Inuyasha was old in years, but not maturity. For that matter, Shippo was probably older than Miroku and Sango put together.

Sesshomaru only shook his head at the antics his brother got caught up into. "How sad Inuyasha. Out smarted by a fox kit."

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

Kagome lay there on the cold rock floor and tried to divert her eyes away from the hovering queen that hung suspended from the cave ceiling, staring at her. The evil distorted demon seemed to be sleeping, but occasionally opened its eyes and laughed at her. _'Why couldn't she have left me lying on my stomach? I would have been much happier looking at dirt than staring at my impending death. She keeps looking at me like I'm a buffet! I hope I'm tough as nails and break off her teeth!' _The image of her Mom tenderizing some steaks to go on the grill entered her mind and she was slightly thankful that no one was taking a mallet to her to tenderize her. _ 'But, at least this infection kept me from getting eaten right away. As long as I'm alive I can figure something out._' Her fever from the infection and her body's reaction to the poison flowing through her veins left her feeling nauseous and wretched. Every inch of her hurt like someone had taken a pipe and beaten her.

She was determined to at least gain enough control of her own body to close her eyelids. That way she knew she could concentrate on regaining movement in the rest of her body. She had done this before when she was poisoned by Mukotsu and when she was cursed by Tsubaki the dark priestess. She was confident that with enough time, she could repeat those successes and overcome this paralysis.

Calling on the powers she could almost feel, she imagined a bow and arrow in her hands. She tried to visualize the act of drawing the bowstring tight and transferring the power to the point of the arrow. It happened so naturally, that she never really thought about the actual mechanics of how she created purification arrows. Still, this was the only thing she could think of. Maybe, just being able to pull up the power would help her purify the poison in her system. While she was trying to grasp her latent powers, she kept working on movement. She never realized that while she was struggling so hard that she was voluntarily clenching her jaw to the point of grinding her teeth.

It took forever, but she finally held her eyelids closed a few seconds longer than her automatic blink. With each blink, she struggled to keep them closed even longer than the time before. It took many tries, but she finally succeeded in keeping her eyelids closed at will. If she had been able to, she would have squealed and danced at her achievement. As it was, all she could do was cheer herself in her head.

Since she succeeded in that part, she moved on to something else. She wanted to work on her mouth, but the queen was right above her, watching. It needed to be something that monster could not see. How about her tongue? She decided to work on maneuvering her tongue around her mouth and touching her teeth. That was something that would go undetected, and it would be vital to talking if she found a reason to talk.

Sweat broke out on her brow as she struggled against her body's numbness. At least it passed the time and was better than simply waiting to be an appetizer. By the time she had regained control over her blink, tongue, jaw, and toes, she started feeling sicker than she had in days. Her mind shuddered as she recognized the feeling, _'Oh, no. This is the same way I felt when Urasue tried to steal my soul to give to the fake Kikyo. Crap, I don't want to have my soul ripped out again. It hurts! And why is everyone either trying to steal my soul, eat my soul, or use my soul! It's mine, damn it! And I intend to keep it right where it belongs! When all this is over, I'm going to have to ask Kaede about some type of talisman or barrier that will keep my soul right where it belongs. I bet even in the afterlife, things will be after my soul.' _Her face scrunched up in discomfort as the all too familiar sickening feelings swelled in her body.

To keep her mind off the ache in her body and soul, she wondered about her soul. She knew she could survive with a large portion of her soul missing. She had experienced that when Kanna had first tried to absorb her soul into that awful mirror. It had left her weak and in pain, but still alive. But, wasn't a piece of her soul still trapped in Kikyo's fake body? Did that missing piece make her, Kagome, weaker? She didn't feel a pain from it. Though, she did feel awful at the time, until she returned through the well to her time. Maybe, in her time, Kikyo was already gone, so the missing piece of soul returned to her when she traveled through the well. Her feverish mind just wasn't up to the task of trying to figure out time travel at the moment, so she returned to flexing her muscles.

The bat queen again dropped from the ceiling to survey the condition of her next meal. Kagome felt the evil intent and involuntarily flinched against the cold rock floor. Still, she kept her eyes closed and her face pinched in a frown. In her confused mind, the scene with Urasue overlapped this situation. With no control on her part, Kagome's body erected a startlingly pure, pink barrier that shoved the demon queen against the wall. Her senses seemed to understand that this was not Sesshomaru, and this was an enemy. As before, the barrier seemed to hold in her enormous soul that fought against the poison trying to sever the bonds to this body.

As the bat queen screeched her displeasure about being immobile and in contact with such purity, groans of pain wrenched out of Kagome's poor body. Strange images flashed in Kagome's mind as she became even more disoriented. All she focused on was begging someone to come soon and stop this torture. Until that happened, Kagome was determined to keep up this barrier until the end of time! She wasn't going to be pot luck dinner for anyone!

Still, maintaining a barrier this large was a waste of energy. She worked at pulling her barrier in so that it extended only an inch past her skin. Doing so felt similar to the struggle she had during the nights with Sesshomaru sitting next to her. She would have laughed if she could, _'At least I learned something from this horrible experience.'_


	16. Chapter 16 FINALLY! You're here!

Chapter 16

In truth, it had not taken long for the three canine demons to dig down to the little cave under the rabbit hole. Other than fighting, it's what dogs did best; dig. Shippo greeted the descending companions. His playful smile from his earlier game of tag had been replaced with a worried frown at the thought of the missing Kagome.

Inuyasha and Koga pushed and shoved each other to be the first to descend to the cave floor. Koga shouted in victory, "Ha! Beat you! I'm the first down here. Now to find my woman." Inuyasha dropped gracefully beside the cocky wolf and muttered, "Actually, Shippo was the first one down here, idiot." Koga huffed and ignored the correction and moved about the cave, sniffing.

Kirara descended into the hole carrying Sango and Miroku to join the search party. This only left Sesshomaru and his group staring down from the surface. Sesshomaru thought that there were surely enough people to locate one silly girl who didn't know better than to follow his directions. Still, a tiny part of his conscience pushed him to guarantee her safe return before continuing on with his normal life. He hoped that this little excursion would soon be just a distant memory.

Inuyasha hollered up the hole at his brother, "Yo, asshole! Get down here. You're the cause of this whole mess." Sesshomaru just stood there staring down his impeccably straight nose and wondered exactly how much trouble he would be in in the afterlife if his father found out that he had killed the obnoxious half-breed. With an inaudible sigh, the great white demon, who was no longer wearing plaid, turned to his retainer and ordered, "Jakken, remain with Rin." The threat was clearly implied that if anything happened to the lively little girl, the toad would be missing some body parts.

With a single step, Sesshomaru floated down to the cave floor that he had hoped he would never grace again. _'Silly human wench should have just stayed where I put her. Then this would be unnecessary.' _Still, he had to accept the blame for assuming she would obey. After all, wasn't her intelligence and independence part of the mystery that had intrigued him? He had been thinking in terms of Rin, who obeyed him without question. Although the two favored in appearance and happiness, obedience was not shared. His brow furrowed as he pondered if Rin would grow up to be as willful as Kagome. He surely hoped not. One headstrong girl was more than enough for this era. He would have to keep a close eye on Rin as she grew for any indications of rebellion and squash those tendencies early and often.

The little cave was overly crowded with the shard hunters, Koga and Sesshomaru. Koga and Inuyasha were disturbed at the amount of Kagome's blood that could be smelled in certain parts of the cavern. Shippo actually shivered from his perch on Miroku's shoulder as he tried to keep the images that the scent created from flooding his little mind. Miroku and Sango were thankfully unaware of the smell that was disturbing those with more sensitive noses. Miroku turned and asked, "Should we commence?" and gestured towards the only tunnel that offered an exit.

Sesshomaru strode forward with his ground-eating long paces and took the lead. It only made sense, since he was the only one who knew where they were going. Still, it ruffled Inuyasha's fur to let the stuffy jerk lead the group. He had not earned the position of leader with the shard hunters. It was Inuyasha that had repeatedly saved his pack mates and even the stupid wolf from time to time. Constant grumbling and complaining floated about the group as they pressed forward.

After a few minutes of trekking into the tunnel, the light vanished completely, and Shippo summoned his fox fire to help the humans see where they were headed. He would never admit it, but the little fox also wanted the light because he was afraid of what might pop up from the dark recesses of the tunnel. There was a weird smell clinging to every surface that kept him alert for ambush.

Inuyasha stopped grumbling in long enough to notice that even though Koga kept trying to walk ahead of Inuyasha, the mangy wolf never approached his half brother. A smirk crossed the dog-eared boys face as he realized that Sesshomaru must have made an "impression" on his rival. He remembered the little reference to a training session. The boy made a mental note to be present for any future sparring between his brother and the wolf. It would do his pride good to watch that jerk of a wolf get his tail handed to him on a silver platter. Or in this case, handed to him on a white fluffy thing. Though, on second thought, it would probably be anticlimactic like the time Inuyasha had prepared to use the Wind Scar on the coward, and Koga sensed the danger and took off with his tail between his legs. Still, it would be something to see, his older brother kicking someone else around for a change. Maybe he could even pick up some pointers for future scuffles with the wolf.

Behind Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango snickered over the order of the canines before them and what it might mean. Sango was more versed in demon physiology while Miroku had gained a vast knowledge of all things demonic. Between the two of them, with helpful comments from Shippo, they realized that Inuyasha had relinquished just a bit of his leadership role to his brother, with very little argument, and that Koga truly had no place in the hierarchy. Maybe there was some tiny hope that the two brothers could find a way to work together in the future. It would make defeating Naraku more feasible if they could. The time they had fought the evil half-breed in the tomb of the great dog general, it had taken a concerted joint effort to disable their foe. And again, against Sounga, the two brothers had been ineffective until Kagome convinced them to combine their efforts.

Inuyasha's anxiety grew the farther they traveled down the tunnel with no sighting of his best friend. The scent of old blood and illness made his nose hurt and his heart heavy. How could he have let her get into such trouble? He was damned if he kept her close, because she might get hurt in battle. But he was also damned if he made her stay away from the fighting, because she invariably attracted trouble when she was out of his sight. Still, he knew it wasn't his fault that she couldn't leave a child in harm's way. That was just part of what made her unique.

Koga was getting irritated being shuffled about between the arrogant full demon dog, and the irritating half dog. Not used to following anyone, this was against his nature. If he was annoyed, then everyone needed to be equally miserable. He growled, "How much longer? Surely my woman could not have traveled so far injured? Is there something you're not telling us?" His tone was clearly insulting. Still, there was no response from the wall of white and red that strode before him. So, he tried again, "And what is that awful smell? It smells like dirt and rotting leaves."

Sango snickered at the wolf's ignorance and explained, "It's obviously a mole demon from the smell and the tunneling. Not hard to kill, but virtually harmless." Miroku smiled a proud, cheesy smile and grasped Sango's hand and exclaimed, "Sango dear, your knowledge is impressive as always." Even though she blushed a bit, she was surprised that the monk's unoccupied hand didn't wander into forbidden territory. Still, she tensed, you could never be too careful when dealing with Miroku's baser tendencies.

Shippo giggled a bit at the put down of the annoying wolf's lack of knowledge, but then added his own observations. "Even I knew it was a mole. My question is, what's that other smell? It's definitely not a mole. It smells kinda lizzardy, but then again, not."

Sesshomaru deigned to grace them with his knowledge without turning around. "You are most likely smelling the snake and bat demons that inhabit these caves. They are controlled by a large female hybrid and fight as one mind." The others paused to digest this information and continued forward with more urgency. This wasn't just a matter of Kagome wandering off and getting lost.

Inuyasha huffed as he asked, "Did you leave any of them alive for us to fight? Or did you hog all the fun for yourself?" He gripped the hilt of his sword as he mentally prepared to battle a hoard of ugly, smelly demons. It would be good to work off some of the anxiety from the last few days of searching.

Sesshomaru merely commented, "They retreated like cowards before this Sesshomaru decimated their numbers." Though his face remained unmoved, not that any could see it from behind, he was beginning to wonder if some stragglers from the hive had crossed paths with the missing girl. If they had harmed her, he might almost feel bad for not destroying them when he had the chance. She was amusing, for a human, and he had not absolutely hated their captivity. He would be loathe to allow a lower demon to destroy something that alleviated his boredom.

The band had walked quite a ways in the eerie green glow from Shippo's fox fire when they reached the intersection of the two tunnels. The girl's scent grew stronger, so Shippo launched himself off Miroku's shoulder and charged towards the source, screaming, "Kagome!" What he found made his little fox heart clench up in his chest. Her sleeping bag lay shredded near her overturned yellow backpack. Her natural scent was eclipsed by the smell of adrenaline, fear and sweat. He shuffled over towards the rock that hid the backpack and picked up her favorite flashlight. It was dented with the glass broken out. Had she used it to fend off whatever had attacked her? Tears formed in his enormous green eyes as he held up the light and offered it to Inuyasha who had knelt just behind him. His little voice quivered as he asked, "Inuyasha?" but couldn't think what else to say.

The older boy sniffed furiously at the area where Kagome had obviously been and smirked affectionately at the frightened little boy. "Good job finding her stuff, Shippo. Now all we have to do is find her, and get her to cook up some of the Ramen in her bag." The two knelt and shoveled everything back into the bag before Inuyasha hoisted it onto his own back.

Koga also sniffed about closer to the middle of the tunnel and announced, "Well, whatever got her smells the same as those lizardy bat demons Sesshomaru was talking about. So, let's go rip some wings off some flying rats and get my Kagome back!" Then in a cloud of swirling dust, Koga sprinted off down the tunnel following Kagome's scent. Sango hollered, "Koga! Wait! You can't just go charging in…." But it was no use. The leader of the wolf tribe was long out of hearing range, even for a demon.

Miroku smiled deviously and asked, "Does he remind you of some other hot tempered someone that we know?"

Sesshomaru looked at the group and answered, "Indeed." His gaze crossed that of Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was feeling quite insulted. "Hey, don't compare me to that brainless flea bag. He just runs around, fights and retreats. I look before I leap into a battle and I don't give up until I win. It just so happens that attacking first saves a lot of time and injuries in most cases." Under his breath he mumbled, "Some friends you guys are."

Shippo looked down the dark tunnel and said thoughtfully, "Maybe we should follow him so he doesn't cause more trouble for Kagome. I mean, knowing Koga, he'd just get the bats mad." His voice fell to a whisper, "And they might take it out on her."

So, with a new heightened sense of urgency, the group practically sprinted down the tunnel with Sesshomaru following Kagome's day old scent, and the wolf's fresh stench.

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Kagome had maintained her small, body-sized barrier all through the night and into the morning. She only knew it was morning by the increase in light that leaked into the larger cave outside the tainted barrier set by the bat demon queen. The sunlight pinkened her eyelids, but she was afraid to open her eyes for two reasons. One was the fact that she might get distracted and lose control over her barrier. The other was the fact that if she wasn't really careful, she would hurl all over herself.

The poison that was supposed to be loosening her soul for the demon's entrée, was shredding her body, mind and soul. It took all her concentration that wasn't devoted to the barrier to keep her stomach from revolting. This was actually worse than the time she had been marinated in Urasue's concoction before Kikyo was revived.

She wasn't sure if it was the poison, the situation, or the fever, but strange images kept popping into her head. With the thought of Kikyo, flashes of the priestess fighting demons and talking to Inuyasha crowded her mind. There were snippets of scenes with children, flowers and toys. There were even sights of demons that she had never seen, or known existed. What was going on?

Reality warped into a strange mixture of sights, sounds and thoughts that were alien to her and it overwhelmed her fragile control over her body. With a strangled moan, she managed to roll onto her side before what little that was in her stomach made its reappearance into the world. How could dried Ramen noodles turn into such a noxious liquid in such a short time? It sucked being partially paralyzed. She couldn't even truly spit properly to get the taste out of her mouth. The only good thing was she heard the bat demon queen curse in disgust, and move away from Kagome towards the mouth of the cave.

Daring to open a single eyelid, Kagome could make out the silhouette of her captor by the barrier. Since the demon was not watching, Kagome worked on moving the larger muscles of her aching body. She was determined to get out of this situation and head back home for a good long vacation. She started a monologue to keep herself focused and to ramp up her indignation to aid her in moving. '_Most girls my age are worrying about fashions, boys and grades. But me? NooOooo! I'm trying to escape from the bride of Dracula! Stupid demons! Crap! Why is my luck so bad lately? I should have just stayed home in bed! Gramps has already given the school some bizarre sickness excuse, so no one would bother looking for me. I could just sleep for days! Then, wake up to eat some of Mom's good cooking, and go back to sleep! I swear, if Inuyasha doesn't get here soon, I'm gonna sit him back into the past! Or Sesshomaru for that matter! So, he fought these creeps. There's no way they beat him! So, where the hell is he?! When I get out of here, I'm gonna put a rosary on his neck too! Maybe I'll get him a shock collar? He definitely needs to go to obedience school."_

After her little rant was over, she reassured herself that the demon queen wasn't watching. Then, slowly, she flexed her arms and legs, and rolled away from the mess she had made on the floor. It took a lot of effort and sweat, but she managed to rise up onto her shaky arms and legs. '_Okay, now we're getting somewhere. The question is, what do I do now? I want to get out of here, but bat-zilla is blocking the exit.' _She looked around the room to see if there was anything she could use to her advantage. Unfortunately, there was nothing IN the little cave cul-de-sac except for her, the demon and the cocoons. She shuddered to even think what was wrapped up in those bundles of white. Did this bat wrap up her left-overs like a spider, or were they offspring of some sort. Either way, her mind stopped at a long 'EWWWWW' and couldn't think past that. It didn't matter, egg sacks couldn't really help her escape.

Just when she thought her luck couldn't get any worse, something wonderful happened. The pug-ugly bat demon queen exited through the tainted barrier. With the speed of an infant, Kagome shifted her mind into 'crawl out of the cave' mode and scooted across the cold floor.

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Sure enough, when the group arrived at the larger cavern that temporarily housed the hive of bat and snake demons, they found Koga hip deep in angry warrior bats. He jumped and ran and shouted curses at the bats, but they kept surrounding him. It would have been comical to watch if they weren't so desperate to find Kagome. The scents were so confused and intermingled in this cluster of creatures, that her clean, gentle scent was totally overpowered.

Inuyasha watched his uncouth rival doing his kick and evade thing, "Well, at least he makes a good diversion. Now, we can get to the business of searching." Miroku and Sango couldn't help but nod. They all knew Koga might have a heart of gold, but he did not have a lick of common sense. It probably came from having weak minded underlings who went along with everything he said, making the wolf leader think all his ideas were wonderful. The forerunner to the corporate yes man.

Sesshomaru stretched his senses to locate the small priestess, but to no avail. Not even his superior nose could locate her scent. As frustration set in, Miroku stated, "I can not detect her aura anywhere with precision. Though, I feel that she is nearby."

Inuyasha huffed, "So, what are we supposed to do? Just walk around and look for her? I'm sure the bats wouldn't mind a bit. Maybe we could just ask for direction?"

Sango tapped her chin, "Maybe we could disguise ourselves so they don't notice us. I mean, it seems like only the warrior demons are attacking, while the workers just continue on like nothing is happening. Maybe they're like ants?"

Inuyasha turned to her and grabbed a hold of his white hair. "Disguise? I think this might give us away."

Shippo offered in a timid voice, not really wanting to go anywhere near the ugly bat and snake demons. "I could use my fox magic to make you guys look like bats. It wouldn't be for long, but it might be enough."

Miroku knelt next to the little fox and asked, "Could we see? Shippo?" With a look of self-importance, Shippo puffed out his chest and withdrew a leaf from his inside vest pocket. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a minute before yelling out, "Fox magic!" then placed the leaf on Miroku's forehead. With a loud "poof" the monk in his purple robes was replaced with a slightly deformed bat demon.

Sango stepped back and covered her mouth as she exclaimed, "Amazing! It's not perfect, but it should be close enough to let us look around without raising suspicions." Then she patted Miroku on the shoulder and grinned, "The look is quite an improvement, monk." The transformed Miroku only furrowed his bat eyebrows which was quite a comical look.

Sesshomaru had turned back to watch the disturbance in the cavern and commented, "Speed is essential since the wolf will be overwhelmed soon." He couldn't believe he was going to actually allow the little fox to disguise him. It was undignified to sneak about as such. His usual method of operating was to walk into the middle of the enemy's camp and simply intimidate them. But, Sesshomaru was a demon who learned from past experience. He had used his normal method the day before, and spent more than half a day in senseless battle with the same regenerated demons. So, today, he would attempt this new stealthy plan. If all else failed, he could still break out of the disguise and rain down destruction on the unsuspecting bats.

So, with five more "poofs" the group of slightly unorthodox bat demons ambled into the cavern in search of their friend. None of the worker demons seemed to notice that a bat with a fox tail walked among them. None noticed a tiny little bat that meowed once in a while. Nor did they notice that two of the bats were carrying swords, one a giant boomerang, and one a monk's staff. Shippo could only do so much at his age, and the slight anomalies of his illusions were not life threatening. It seemed that the worker bats lacked any skills in scenting their co-workers, or noticing any individual characteristics. In other words, they were just walking vegetables!

The group of six unconventional bats remained close together as they waded into the sea of scurrying bat demons. An occasional snake would slither by, but they seemed to remain on the outside edges of the horde. As they neared the center of the chamber, Miroku commented in a subdued hush, "There seems to be a barrier of some sort to our right. I am also sensing a large demonic aura in the same direction."

Sesshomaru angled towards the area the monk had gestured towards and informed them, "Most likely it is the leader. She was quite formidable." He was secretly looking forward to a rematch with the evasive queen. How dare she run away from a fight that he enjoyed? He hated cowardice.

Inuyasha couldn't help but snort and taunt, "You, the great Sesshomaru, were bested by a FEMALE! Oh, how I would love to have seen that!" He knew that his brother couldn't exactly attack him in the midst of the enemy without destroying his disguise. He was sure Sesshomaru would exact his revenge for the comment at a later date. Still, it was fun to watch the anger flicker over the artificial face of the bat demon. It wasn't quite as intimidating as his usual golden glare.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

On the other side of the cavern, Kagome had managed to inch her way up to the tainted barrier. She carefully sat on her rump and analyzed this new obstacle. '_That's gonna hurt to crawl through. Being carried through quickly didn't feel very good. I wonder if I can bring it down somehow.'_ She tried to think about all the possible ways to destroy a barrier. Inuyasha could do it easily. Maybe even Miroku could collapse it with a sutra. All she could do was try to touch it and purify the taint.

'_Well, here goes nothing.' _She thought as she tentatively reached a shaking hand out towards the shimmering wall of blackish-purple light. It never occurred to her to remember that she maintained a barrier of her own tightly woven around her body to retain and protect her loosened soul. Before her index finger could make contact with the foreign barrier, her pure pink barrier flared at the offending power. Without even a struggle, the taint in the larger energy field bled away to match her own lively pink. It was as effortless as the purification that occurred every time she touched a tainted jewel shard.

Unfortunately, the blinding shift in the purity of the barrier was like a beacon alerting the demon queen and all the inhabitants of the cavern that something major had occurred. With a vicious echoing roar, the bat demon queen spun to survey the entrance of her chamber. As with Kagome's personal barrier, this larger one repelled the queen and prevented her from returning to her safe haven and her eggs. Fury poured off the giant female as she repeatedly swung at the offending pink obstacle.

Several yards away, the six fake bat demons shifted as Miroku gasped, "Kagome!" He started to shuffle over to the right side of the cavern in a more desperate pace. He called back over his shoulder, "That barrier that I felt before was just purified. It could only be the work of Kagome's powers."

When the roar echoed through the group, Inuyasha exclaimed in a sarcastic voice, "Great. She went and made the big bad demon mad. Why can't things ever be easy with that girl? Well, at least this might be fun." He gripped Tetsusaiga with his gross bat hand and half expected the mighty sword to reject him because of his counterfeit appearance.

Sesshomaru walked up beside Inuyasha, making the younger boy startle at having forgotten one of his greatest foes had accompanied them on this rescue mission. The great white demon, who was currently a tall ugly bat, looked down his… mandibles?... at his little brother. His cold voice seemed strange coming from his twisted face, "I will dispatch this demon. Perhaps you should assist that pathetic wolf. It seems he has been overpowered." Inuyasha shuddered at the disparity between the voice and the face, then looked back towards the commotion where Koga had unintentionally provided a wonderful distraction.

Sure enough, the wolf was no longer jumping and dodging with his enhanced speed. It seemed that the sheer number of warriors had finally captured him by simply falling on him in great numbers and using their combined weight to press him to the ground. Although there was plenty of swearing and scuffling to be heard, no motion was visible. It wouldn't be long before the mangy wolf would need saving too. Inuyasha only grunted in disgust and responded, "Let's see this demon queen before deciding to help that pathetic excuse for a demon."

It took no time to shuffle around the mulling traffic of demon workers. The group stood in awe at the giant bat/snake hybrid that towered dozens of feet over their heads. Luckily, the mammoth was so preoccupied in slamming her snake-head fists against the pure barrier that she never even noticed their approach. The only sound from the group in response to their assessment of the situation was a clear, resounding popping of knuckles that came from both the dog brothers. A gleam of anticipation shone in the disguised bat eyes of the demon lord. Inuyasha looked over at him and smirked behind his mask. No telling what a smirk looked like on the mandibles of a bat demon.

Shippo searched the area and caught a glimpse through the barrier of the one person that he had hoped to see more than anyone in the last week. With the uncontrollable enthusiasm of youth, Shippo screamed out, "KAGOME!" and nearly ran towards his friend. Everyone in the group jumped in surprise at the outburst, and then watched in dread as the giant before them turned her attention slowly towards the unexpected sound.

Inuyasha growled, "Oh, great! Just great! Good job Shippo. You blew our disguise!" He reached a pale white hand up towards his bat head and snorted, "Might as well get rid of the act." and tore the leaf off his head. With a fading shimmer like heat waves in the summer, the magic faded and revealed the dog-eared boy who grinned like a maniac at the menace that hissed before them. With one swift movement, Tetsusaiga was drawn and transformed, just waiting to take a crack at this big ugly she-demon who had somehow escaped his deadly brother. Wouldn't it just annoy the heck out of Sesshomaru if he, Inuyasha, the "weak half-breed" could defeat the enemy that eluded the "killing perfection."

Miroku and Sango turned away and sprinted towards their fallen comrade as Sango explained, "You two can have fun with her while we go free Koga." It wouldn't do for them to let Koga get himself hurt too badly. Although, he could be a colossal pain, Kagome still considered him a friend and ally. Even though Inuyasha had discarded the illusion, the two humans maintained their disguise for the added advantage of moving about freely.

The giant demon queen eyed the little white half demon with disdain and loathing. He wouldn't even be a good snack, so she almost dismissed him. Then, the bat demon beside the nuisance shimmered and transformed into the same dog demon that had injured so many of her workers, and destroyed her glorious hive. She hissed in rage and launched her snake-head fists at him. With the grace of long practiced moves, both brothers leapt easily away from the incoming attack.

As he flew past the mass of enraged bat, Inuyasha stretched out his sword and swung at the queen's unprotected side. The expected splatter of blood and gore never came as the Tetsusaiga was repelled by the demon's impenetrable hide. On the far side of the queen, Sesshomaru had withdrawn Tokijin and performed a similar lunge against the side of their attacker with similar results.

Below the two leaping brothers, Kirara had snatched Shippo up by the scruff of his neck and leapt out of striking range of the flying dogs and bats. She landed next to the opening of the cavern that was still barricaded by a pure barrier. When they landed, Shippo struggled out of the big cat's grasp and scampered over to the barrier. Behind the pink haze, he could make out Kagome's form slumped against the wall, seemingly asleep or unconscious. He anxiously called her name, only this time, he made sure it was quiet enough that only she could hear him.

Kagome was still having a horrible time focusing. After she had purified the taint in the barrier, the feedback of power returning to her hand had nearly blown her back across the little cave. Her soul flared and flashed around her as she struggled to retain her control over her little personal barrier. It wouldn't do any good to have gone through all of this effort only to lose her soul at the end because of some carelessness. What really got her focused was the image of her helpless soul floating along and being snatched up by Kikyo's soul skimmers for a quick trip to the walking dead zombie priestess. _'No way is Kikyo getting any more of my soul. It's MINE. I don't care if she was in there somewhere to begin with. I'm me, and it's mine.'_

As she sat panting at the effort, part of her mind registered that the enraged queen was roaring and attacking the barrier before her. It was strange that the wall of energy remained in tact, since it was the queen's powers that had erected it, and Kagome was not doing anything to maintain it. It was like she had somehow convinced the barrier to help her, and it was staying up on its own accord. Weird.

When she heard someone shout her name, Kagome swam up through the strange and confusing thoughts that clouded her mind and tried to take inventory of the situation. There were strange demons standing behind the queen and the queen had turned and attacked these newcomers. She had almost decided to stop thinking anything was strange because then she wouldn't be surprised.

The fight faded from her attention as she came to a sudden realization that she could move more freely now. Her paralysis had diminished to an almost unnoticeable level. She tried to figure out why. Nothing like this had happened before. When she had been poisoned, she had purified the toxins slowly. Except for Naraku's miasma. It had never really affected her. Maybe that was because the poison was created with the help of the Shikon shards? Could this bat's poison be a similar construct?

Come to think of it, she had never heard of any bats, either animal or demon, being poisonous. Maybe when the purification power had poured into her from the barrier, it had been just the boost she needed to rid her system of the paralyzing poison. But, if the paralysis was gone, was the other property of the poison gone too? Had she managed to hold onto her soul long enough that the poison would stop trying to loosen the bond between her body and soul?

This was another thing she was going to grill Kaede about. Not only did she need a talisman to prevent her soul from ever being taken/manipulated again, she wanted a ward to prevent any future poisoning. This was a miserable feeling she did not want to revisit any time soon. Maybe, between the two of them, with Miroku's help, they could make her own rosary beads that would allow them to weave in all these protections. Then her mind went off on a flight of fancy. '_Oooo. Maybe I could make a Mokomoko-sama that would be able to do all this stuff! I could have protection and my very own fluff to pet! Course, mine would have to be smaller. I'd trip all over one as big as Sesshomaru's. Maybe I could have a scarf, or a fur belt?'_

It was that time that a familiar voice pulled her out of her fanciful thoughts. With a bit of effort, she raised her weary head to search out the voice of her favorite fox. Instead of shining green eyes, she found a midget bat demon staring hopefully at her. A look of sheer confusion passed her face. As if in response, the midget shimmered and a leaf fell to the ground and her Shippo appeared in its place.

A smile as bright as the morning sun shone on Kagome's face as she pushed her aching body forward and managed to fall over onto the rock floor so her head was almost touching the barrier. If Shippo was here that meant her friends were somewhere close by! Slowly, she extended her right arm forward, and it passed through the pure barrier with no resistance. Shippo latched onto the endearing hand and brought it up to his chest as he tried to hug her arm. His voice was shaky as he explained, "Oh, Kagome. We were so worried. We didn't know what had happened to you and we couldn't find any scent trail to follow. Are you okay? Sesshomaru said you were injured. I missed you soooo much." A tear of happiness slid down his young face as he tried to look over the girl through the pink shimmer.

Kagome laughed as all the feelings came pouring out of her little friend. She squeezed his hand, since that was all she had the energy for at the moment. Even though the poison had been neutralized, she was still suffering from the effects of her fever and having her soul almost freed from her body. Suddenly, Kirara grabbed Shippo by the scruff of the neck again and leapt away from the barrier. Not a second later, the demon queen slammed into the wall of pure pink energy and roared as the purity burned the flesh off her back. It seemed that one of the brothers had knocked her back during their battle.

Kagome focused for a moment as she heard Inuyasha's aggravated voice yell, "Damn, this bitch is tough to kill." Then, the smoking demon queen was gone from her vision, and she could hear the grunt as Inuyasha launched into another attack. Kagome could only see bits and pieces of the action beyond the cavern entrance, but she swore she saw two white haired projectiles flying about in complicated attack maneuvers about the queen's form. So, Sesshomaru finally made a grand appearance. She couldn't help but grumble something about stupid dogs as she laid there on her side, watching the show.

Something tickled her mind. Some elusive thought started growing in urgency. Something that she needed to remember. Once again, her hand, that was still protruding through the barrier, was seized by the small clawed hands of Shippo. Then it hit her. She gasped and latched onto the kit's paw as she hissed, "Shippo. Tell Inuyasha that the queen has a jewel shard. Maybe two. In her neck. Hurry, tell him!"

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

AN- I know I ranted a few chapters back about the uselessness of Algebra. But, I humbly bow my head and have to admit I used it the other day. I was trying to figure out how many years it would take the past to catch up to the future if the well screwed up and only 2 days passed in the future for 3 days in the past. Needless to say, it was a lot of calculating, and a lot of years. Scratch that idea for a story arc.

NEWS FLASH Forced Contemplation was awarded 2nd place in the IYFanguild poll for Best Characterization for the 2nd Quarter of 2007 for Sesshomaru!!! WOOOHOOO!!

Thank you to all my readers who generously voted for this story. I am humbled and overjoyed.

Thanks to my reviewers

Millenium Ring and Winchester – as you can see, the hyper writing pills wore off. Yes, I felt sorry for Kagome being threatened with being devoured. Still, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? The tunnels were already there, the bats just use them, like parasites. I'm glad the queen freaked everyone out. I tried to make her as disgusting as I could without having slime drip off her jaws like Alien.TM. I hope this was enough to satisfy your need to know what happened to Kagome. And yes, I think I milked the plaid shirt and sweat pants for all it was worth. I'd still love to see someone's artistic rendition of that outfit.

Your wish for Kagome to keep her small barrier until rescue is my command! Also, one rescue, coming right up!

InuJoey – I'm glad you liked it and have kept reading.

Blacksolace – Thank you for the kind words. I'm enjoying the Sess/Kag quest too. It may change in the near future, because, you know, life interferes with budding relationships, sometimes. Or is that authoresses who interfere. Well, same thing!

Moonflames – I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your idea about the shock collar. It was such a funny picture. I'm glad you are still enjoying this story, and yes, I try hard to tie things together, but not quite to the point of a Harry Potter type story. Some things are simply just background and filler and may never turn up again. Yet, some will play parts in the future. Life is like building a pyramid. Everything is built on layers of other things.

I'm hoping there are no corpses in your house or others. I know suspense can be hard, but, jeez, I'd hate to actually kill people with it.

About writing about all aspects of the story… I used to use my son's action figures to remember what everyone was doing. But it got embarrassing, playing with them at my desk, and a bit distracting. Hehe.

Yes, Sesshomaru got it backwards. But think about it. Do you remember the first scene where he tells Rin not to move, then he leaps over her to attack whoever is hiding in the bushes. She not only just stays still, but she doesn't even put her foot back down. In his pack, the little human girl, Rin, is the stray dog that is tagging along.

About Inuyasha not letting Sess bait him, I mean, surely, the boy would get wise to this trick after enough times. Inuyasha may be volatile, but towards the end of the manga/series, he can be in Sess's presence without automatically attacking him.

Bluemiko – thank you. I hope to keep this story going for a while. Although, this story arc might end soon, I have many, many more on the back burner just waiting to spring to life. As in the actual manga, the quest continues even if it changes a bit.

Ingi-doo – I thought I heard a squeal after posting chapter 14 and 15. Was that you? Sesshomaru is coming to the rescue, in a roundabout way. I mean, really, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, at least, not quickly and without a lot of effort and rewards! Enjoy.

Kittyb78 – Thank you for the kind words. I hope I can fulfill your future desires for more.

Natrinu 45 – As I've said before, Kagome is a magnet for trouble. If she doesn't go looking for it, it finds her. And what doesn't kill her will make her stronger.

Katie33h – I agree, soul eating demons are the worst. But there is a reason. You'll have to wait and see. Hint, hint, wink.

Kimiko4CooKies – I would love to see a drawing of this outfit and Inuyasha's reaction. It made me giggle to write that.

CobaltHeart – I agree, the monsters are creepy and I'd freak too.

Thank you, I'm glad you like my quirky sarcasm/humor. I mean, in the very first episode, we see Kagome being quite sarcastic about her birthday present and her Granpa. But there are more times where she is sweet and innocent. And Sesshomaru. I mean, he must have a great sense of humor to keep Jakken around! That, and the stepping on Jakken and tossing rocks at him show hidden humor. And, regardless to what fanfiction authors have repeatedly stated, the demon lord shows a wide variety of emotions in both the manga and the anime. You just have to look for them. They're subtle. hehe

Torticolis – Welcome to my little story. I'm so glad you are enjoying the details and realism. I truly wanted to create something that was not typical and steered clear of clichés. Kagome will never smell like sakura blossoms or lilacs, and will never run crying from seeing Inu and Kik kissing. If I've made you actually feel what was written, then I know I've done something right. Thank your for your lovely reviews.

Oh, and how is it a ruined image to picture Sess naked, blushing and covering his parts in a crowd of fan girls? Ok, so he would never blush. He's probably just stand there in all his glory and say, "here I am world. Aren't I wonderful!"

Orchidaceae – yes this is a sess/kag fiction. No, Sess was not feeling all lovey-dovey in Chapter 15. He's old. He's set in his ways. He's not going to change overnight. He would want his life to go back to the way it was and has always been after this little jaunt in the cave is over. He still thinks she's an annoying child and that she loves Inuyasha. He's not a cradle robber. Also, he might have the beginnings of some softer emotions, thanks to Rin, but he's still not there yet. Very emotionally backwards. Besides, there are plenty of fictions where he just suddenly is overcome with loving feelings and becomes a touchy-feely guy. I'm trying to be more realistic.

Julie5 – thank you soooo much! That was one of the greatest compliments I've received yet. I agree, good fanfiction is better than TV.

Amaya Mishugosha – Thank you so much. I'm glad you are enjoying reading this story.

NeveR ForsakE ME – Haha. I agree, except like I said above, he would probably not blush. Then again, he might just kill all the annoying, prattling girls for daring to look on his perfection!

Oh, yes, I realize what school is all about. I've attended more than my fair share of classes and lectures!

The Ramen comparison!!!! Oh, I loved coming up with that one. I mean, what is the boy obsessed over…. He would put his thoughts in terms of what he knows best! Nuff said.

Nameless Little Girl – I'm glad you liked it.

KailJoy – And continue we shall!

Demonlordlover – Some recollections will bear fruit in the future, and some are just background. Sesshomaru didn't exactly leave his new found knowledge in the cave, he just made assumptions based on his centuries of experience, instead of the days of being with Kagome. It takes time to teach an old dog new tricks.

And I love using Koga as a common enemy for the brothers to pick on. I've watched my own brothers do this very thing over and over. When they are together, they fuss and fight, but if an outsider threatens either one, they form a united front and defend!

Silvara – Um, it was the last chapter because that's as far as I had gotten so far????? I hope this new chapter satisfies your need. Kinda like a Snickers Bar!

Whew! I won't let all these responses build up next time! But I'm not complaining. I LOVE getting reviews.

Oh, FYI, this story has reached over 15,000 hits! (bouncing like a kid hopped up on Hershey's bars!) And we've reached 171 reviews! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Next chapter – stick around for the demise of the bat queen and the imminent rescue of our time traveling little 9th grader! But wait, not everything is resolved. She still has a fever and the infection has spread again. And there is the fallout of the poison.

Review if you want to!


	17. Chapter 17 Fight Our Way Out

Chapter 17

Kagome rest on the ground and watched the dancing and twirling brothers as they flew about dodging energy blasts from the bat demons' mouths. Seemed the monster bat queen had decided she couldn't take them on alone and called for reinforcements. The warrior bats, that were only twice as tall as Sesshomaru, had joined their choreographed attacks into a deadly web of destruction. Blast after blast echoed through the chamber as the cavern crumbled outside the glowing pink barrier. All Kagome could think was, 'Pretty stupid to bring the room down on your own people.' But, maybe the queen was more concerned with swatting the annoying dog brothers, than in saving her minions.

Her right hand was still protruding from the barrier where Shippo had released it and she didn't have enough strength to drag it back. With her luck, it would probably get stepped on. Dirt from the cave roof trickled down against her exposed hand. The touch reminded her of the horrific cave-in that had begun this entire chapter of her adventures. Still, her mind couldn't focus on the danger present for her friends. Strange images kept distracting her along with the effort to maintain her barrier to guard her soul. Her aching body groaned at the thought of moving from her protected spot.

Shippo had leapt into action when Kagome ordered him to tell Inuyasha about the presence of jewel shards in their enemy. That explained why he and Sesshomaru were having such a hard time killing the snake-bat hybrid. Kirara transformed and flew the little fox up above the melee, near the crumbly ceiling. He shouted down, "Inuyasha! Kagome says there are two jewel shards in that things neck!" Unfortunately, this noise attracted the attention, and the energy blast of one of the warrior bat demons. Kirara ducked swiftly enough to avoid the path of the attack, but it continued on to blow a huge chunk out of the thinning roof of the cave. The debris crashed down in the middle of the worker drones and crushed a dozen under its weight. Those drones around it simply continued on their way and ignored the deaths of their comrades.

Shippo clung with all his might to Kirara's yellow fur as the fire cat twisted and dove towards the far end of the cavern where her owner was struggling. Sango and Miroku had made their way towards the pinned Koga without incident because of the disguise. Unfortunately, once the actual fighting began, the camouflage fell. It seemed that Shippo would have to work harder to maintain his illusions while under stress.

With one good sweep of Hiraikotsu, half of the weight of the demon pile above Koga was relieved. That was enough of an advantage that the wolf prince could throw off the remaining heap. He resembled a volcano erupting bodies of flying demons. None of those he launched remained unscathed. And, the drones that had been diverted to add their bulk soon found themselves slashed and kicked into oblivion.

Miroku stood toe to toe with Sango as they waded into the crush of demon bodies and assaulted anything that still moved. He brandished his staff and his sutras instead of opening up his wind tunnel. Considering the fragility of the roof structure and the proximity of his companions, there was no way he could use it safely.

Finally, Koga stood in a small clearing with his back towards the two humans and announced, "This just isn't any fun. These things just keep coming back like they have no brains! They have no fighting ability, no style, just bulk." Warily, the three eyed the roiling mass of demons that seemed to hesitate in continuing the fight. Sango glanced over her shoulder at Miroku, "What do you think they are waiting for?" With his eye for detail, Miroku had noticed that the queen on the other side of the cavern was bellowing with pain as she was shoved into the purified barrier. He guessed, "I think they are waiting for further orders from their queen. Inuyasha seems to have distracted her."

But, their reprieve only lasted those few moments, then it was an all-out battle once again. No matter where they swung their weapons or punches, there was a demon there. They washed over the group like a tidal wave. Kirara dove into the midst of the demon flood and swatted the annoying drones away like they were nothing but cat toys. Shippo added his blast of fox fire and managed to singe quite a few snakes among the bat demons. His little chest puffed out with pride at the damage he had inflicted. The nearly exhausted Sango and Miroku found themselves leaning heavily against the great cat's sides as the demons once again pulled back. Koga yelled, "This stinks. Let's get out of here and join dog-breath and the others. If the queen controls these idiots, we should be attacking her."

Miroku looked startled at the wolf that was already speeding across the cavern and chuckled, "For once, Koga has said something intelligent. I didn't know he had it in him." So, in a smooth move, both humans mounted the ferocious fire cat and lifted into the air. Shippo announced, "I found Kagome. She's behind the pink barrier over there." and he pointed his little finger to the opening behind the enormous snake-bat queen's whipping tail legs. So, with that destination in mind, Kirara flew her three riders towards Kagome's location.

Kagome's mind had drifted away from reality as her eyes kept watching the flashing blurs of white and red that flew about the black form of the queen. Somewhere in her dim thoughts, Kagome registered that Inuyasha was showing a great deal of restraint by not throwing his wind scar in the enclosed space. She wondered if Sesshomaru had admonished him. Knowing the brothers, it was nothing that pleasant. The older demon had probably threatened some gruesome bodily harm if Inuyasha were to collapse the cave on top of them. A tipsy sounding giggle broke from her lips as she pictured Sesshomaru whacking Inuyasha with a rolled up newspaper on the snout and Inuyasha running whimpering with his tail between his legs.

While she was daydreaming, a noise attracted her waning attention. The shuffling and ripping noises seemed to be coming from back in the alcove she was trapped in. Not trapped, as in, couldn't get out, but trapped as in, if she crossed the barrier, she'd be crushed by the flailing tails of the queen. So, with just a hint of curiosity, she shifted around on the floor until she could glance back into the darkness. What was back there? She couldn't quite remember. Wasn't the alcove empty except for big, bad and scaly out there? The darkness in the back of the cave began to writhe and move. She remembered there were white things back there that looked like cocoons. Not wanting to know what was moving about, she decided now would be a great time to get up onto her hands and knees and see if she could slip, undetected, through this barrier.

Sesshomaru was getting quite frustrated with their lack of destruction. He knew from experience how difficult the horde of bats and snake demons were. Somehow, he had hoped that the queen surrounded herself with these fighters because she was helpless. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. It was growing increasingly difficult to engage the giant hybrid while avoiding her slashing tail legs and the energy blasts rising from the encircling warriors. Constant movement and close proximity to the queen were the only ways to keep from being picked off by the blasts. His respect for the fighting ability of this particular enemy was increasing, but not by much.

Sesshomaru's respect for Inuyasha's fighting abilities also increased. There was a noticeable difference in his current fighting strategy than from the last time Sesshomaru had witnessed his prowess. There was more instantaneous calculation and thought behind the fluid moves. Still, the half breed's main strength seemed to be his incalculable strength and force of will. When Sesshomaru found any slight opening in the defensive scaly skin of the queen, he soon found that Inuyasha mirrored the same attacks on the opposite side of the creature. There were no arguments between the brothers, no taunting, no jeering, only seamless complimentary attacks. They didn't have the unspoken communication that the queen had with her underlings, but the brothers had fought against each other so often in the past that they just seemed to know what the other was going to do. It was reminiscent of the battle against Sounga after they had stopped trying to one-up each other.

The two dogs leapt gracefully around the giant's body, striking all the tender places they could locate which were not many on the mountain sized demon. When Shippo yelled down about jewel shards, Inuyasha exclaimed, "That explains why this bitch won't go down." In that moment of distraction, one of the tail legs whipped against Inuyasha's back and sent him crashing into a near wall. With a roar of imminent triumph, the beautiful face of the hybrid spun to launch a crushing attack against the half demon. The snake head on her right wing opened its fanged mouth, and a thick, gray fog spewed forth towards Inuyasha. In an instinctual reaction, Inuyasha launched a wind scar at the queen to repel the mist. The yellow slashes tore through and dissipated the vapor and continued on to strike the female in the torso. A small portion of the attack passed over her shoulder and collided with the wall above Kagome's alcove.

Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara landed beside the barrier just as Inuyasha's blast struck above them. The group scrambled towards the side of the entrance to avoid the falling boulders and dirt. A shriek echoed from beyond the barrier that was undeniably Kagome's voice. It wasn't the sound of an injured Kagome, but more like the voice she used when she was frightened by a bug.

As the dust settled, Shippo struggled from Sango's grip to scamper to the opening where he had last seen Kagome. Her hand was no longer protruding through the barrier, but he could faintly make out her form. It seemed she was crawling towards him and there was movement behind her. The shimmer of the barrier made it impossible to tell what else was there, but if it made her scream, it couldn't be good.

Miroku and Sango joined Shippo and immediately, Miroku reached out expecting his hand to pass through the barrier. It was understood that a demon couldn't pass, at least, not unless it was a demon lord class demon, like Sesshomaru. But, Miroku found that for some reason, this barrier repelled him as well. Possibly it was caused by the barrier's origin? If a tainted shard had been used in its creation, then it might reject any being with pure powers.

Even seeing the monk repelled, Sango stepped up and tried her luck at entering. Shockingly, she almost fell on her face as the resistance of the barrier vanished immediately. With only a moment of orientation, her eyes beheld the writhing mass of snake and demon parts that made up the disgusting conglomeration of demons lurking at the rear of the alcove. She leapt to Kagome's side and hoisted the dazed, crawling girl up to her feet. There was no way they were going to become breakfast for any mixed up demon larvae.

Kagome crawled her hardest after she had seen the nasty creatures that were swirling around behind her. It was almost too much for her to turn her back to her fears. Still, even half dazed and suffering from a fever, her self-preservation instincts kicked into high gear and she pushed on. She never even registered the presence of her friends, until she found herself almost floating in the air. In truth, she was being supported and literally dragged by Sango through the barrier just as the first roiling creature slammed into the barrier where they had just stood. With a glance over her shoulder, Kagome thought, 'Timing is everything!'

Miroku herded the two women back towards the bend in the cave wall beside the alcove entrance, so they were out of the direct line of fire from the brothers. Shippo leapt up onto Kagome's shoulder, only to yelp after he landed and kicked off to perch on Miroku. As they set the young girl down, Miroku's hand touched her body, in a non-offensive area of her arm, and he too was stung by her purification powers. A deep frown crossed his handsome face as he wondered how she learned to do that. It seemed she was generating a small, body sized barrier that repelled him and Shippo. Didn't Sango feel anything?

Koga joined the two brothers in the assault on the giant demon that caused all this trouble. He didn't have any energy attacks to send at the hybrid, so instead, he just did what he did best. He kicked the scales right off her twin tail legs. Each blow pulled a roar out of the lovely mouth that hovered several stories above them. While the queen was occupied with this new comer, the brothers systematically carved chunks out of the leathery wings that spanned half the cavern.

A pattern emerged in the queen's defenses. Every time Koga kicked her with all his might, she would turn her attention to the annoying wolf. Then, she would turn back to swipe her big, razor sharp wings at whichever dog was closest. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru seemed to recognize this trend at almost the same time, because they changed their timing to strike instantaneously with Koga's next kicking attack. While the queen turned to face Koga, both brothers took swings at the horrid snake heads that sprang from the joints on her wings.

Twin thumps echoed through the cavern as the matching snake head hands crashed to the ground. The anguished cry of the hybrid echoed so loudly through the cave that the sound waves were enough to collapse two of the tunnels on the far side of the cavern. The humans in the group cringed and covered their ears and wondered how the demons were fairing with their sensitive hearing.

As the sound died, Miroku noticed a shift in the energy of the barrier of the alcove. It seemed that since Kagome was no longer in contact with it, the taint of the queen's shards was bleeding back into the pure power. He leaned out from their safe corner, and witnessed the horrid offspring of the queen writhing and struggling against the dimming purity. In a flash, he had a sutra in his hand, and tossed it to reinforce the only thing that kept those monstrosities in there. The flare of power drove the larvae back, but only momentarily. His powers were not enough to counteract the tainted jewel shards. Only one person held such power, and she was in no shape to assist them.

He returned to Sango's side, where she was inspecting Kagome's injuries. In a worried voice, he called out, "Lady Kagome? Can you hear me?" Dazed doe-shaped brown eyes turned to regard him as she only nodded weakly. He continued, "We need to move you back towards the barrier. It is failing without your contact, and those rather repulsive creatures are going to escape." A shudder coursed through the girl's body and she nodded her permission. He again reached to help her up and was jolted before his hand made contact. He sounded sheepish as he explained to Sango, "Sango, love, it seems you will have to help Kagome up because her powers are repelling my touch as well as Shippo's."

It didn't take long to lift the injured girl up and carry her back around the corner. They propped her back against the cave wall right next to the entrance, so she was facing away from the awful scene within. All she had to do was reach over to her right, and slightly behind her, to make physical contact with the barrier. In that instant, it flashed a pink so pure it almost seemed white. All the larvae that were shoving against the barrier in that moment were purified into ash.

To everyone's horror, the face of the queen whipped around at the sound of her offspring being destroyed. The crazed eyes locked onto Kagome's form. A harsh, grating voice bellowed, "YOU!!! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!!" Then the towering hybrid lunged at the girl beside the barrier.

In that instant of distraction, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha raked the sides of the queen's torso and hacked off what remained of her wings. Their victory was short lived again as it became instantly obvious what had drawn their opponent's attention. Every living thing in the cave that was not a member of their group, turned and charged at the injured girl that they had come to save. Inuyasha yelled, "Shit! Kagome look out!" as he leapt onto the back of the queen that was now traveling towards his friend. With all the strength he possessed, he drove the Tetsusaiga deep into the scale-armored shoulder of the enraged giant. Not one to be outdone, Sesshomaru positioned himself in the path of the lumbering queen and used his whips in a barrage of strikes against her torso. The queen noticed these attacks as much as a person would notice a mosquito bite. Her mind was focused on one goal only. Make the human girl pay for the destruction of her offspring.

Sango witnessed the oncoming destruction and hurled her boomerang with all her might. Her only thought was to cut the legs out from under the terror approaching. As Koga assaulted one moving tail leg, the other was amputated where it joined the torso, and the creature toppled like a fallen tree. A shriek of pain echoed before the concussion of the body with the cave floor. Inuyasha rode the giant down, clinging to the hilt of his sword. When they stopped, he grabbed the worn wrappings of his sword grip with both hands, and swung the mighty fang towards the opposite side of the queen's body, effectively, cutting her head and shoulders away from the rest of her body. Sesshomaru had a similar idea as he had drawn Tokijin and slashed straight down the queen's head, splitting it in two, from top to bottom, down past the laceration Inuyasha had inflicted. One half of the skull rolled up against the pure barrier, and disintegrated into dust. With a snarl of disgust, Inuyasha strode to the remaining half of the head, and kicked it with all his might to join its other half. The moment it impacted with the pure barrier, it too vanished in a puff of dust. Two now mostly pure jewel shards fell into the shifting pile of gray ash and glinted happily in the darkness.

At that moment of the queen's destruction, the wall of demons that descended on Kagome's position froze. The only visible movement from the horde was the blinking of sickly yellow eyes. Miroku cautiously moved towards the barrier to retrieve the shards from the former hybrid. In the lull, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Koga moved to form a layer of protection between Kagome and these drones. Just behind them, Miroku, Sango and Kirara formed a second layer in between the three canines.

The silence of so many creatures was unnatural and stretched all the companions' nerves to the breaking point. Into this tense atmosphere, Kagome's voice cracked, "Shippo, I wanna go home. I don't want to do this anymore." Her voice trailed off to sound like a frightened little girl who was going to cry. "I don't feel good."

In the midst of this stalemate, a beam of sunlight began glowing across the cavern from an opening near the middle of the expanse. It seemed that some of the battle damage had opened a fissure in the ceiling. Kagome tilted her heavy head to look up at the ray of light and smiled a childish smile as she thought this was a sign from above lighting their way out.

Inuyasha called behind him without taking his eyes off the threat before them, "Sango, Miroku, get Kagome out of here. We'll follow right behind you after we deal with this trash."

Without another word, Sango hoisted Kagome into a slumped standing position while Kirara leapt to her side. Miroku cautioned, "Wait, Sango. Kagome is producing a barrier that might burn Kirara also. We need to ensure they don't touch." Sango just looked at him in confusion as she tried to imagine how this would work. Gritting his teeth, Miroku reached out his arms, "Here, let me have her. I'll hold her up off Kirara's back until we get out of here."

The instant his hands made contact with Kagome's form an almost electric sting sizzled through his nerve endings. He couldn't control the grunt that escaped him as he swung the limp girl up into his arms.

It was no wonder that the monk's actions were hurried. It must hurt a great deal. Sango situated the monk before her on the fire cat in case Kagome's barrier hurt him enough that he needed help remaining seated on the cat. With a roar, Kirara launched into the air and flew towards the crack in the ceiling. Shippo clung to Sango's shoulder and looked over the monk's purple clad form to keep an eye on Kagome's face. She seemed to be quite oblivious to her surroundings, focused only on the sunlight lighting their way.

Once the group was airborne, the surrounding demons seemed to rouse from their stupor. With a shrill battle cry, the warriors lunged at the three canine demons that had destroyed their queen. From the air the movement of the mass of demons resembled a pot of boiling water.

As Inuyasha and Sesshomaru slashed out with their swords, a handful of bat demons erupted into the air in pursuit of the flaming fire cat. The first energy blast ricocheted off the stone just above Sango and Miroku's heads, and Kirara had to dart sharply to the left to avoid the falling debris. Kagome let out a giggling "Whee!" at the movement.

The second blast followed almost immediately, and did not miss. The glancing blow crackled over Kirara's left flank and scorched up Miroku's and Sango's left legs. It was an uncontrolled reaction that Miroku lost his grip on Kagome. Her limp body slid down his chest and her rump impacted Kirara's back. Shippo screamed, "Pick her up! She's hurting Kirara!" While simultaneously, the fire cat bellowed a pain filled roar and fell from the air.

Still in pain himself, Miroku tried with all his might to regain control over his screaming arm muscles. Sango's arms wrapped around his waist reached out and tried to help lift Kagome's dead weight. The strain reflected in the deep frown on his face as he managed to lift her a few inches up off the cat's fur. The growl below them reduced to a hiss and Kirara righted herself and resumed flying.

Below them, Sesshomaru watched the movements of the little group with anxiety. He had been a breath away from launching his body in their direction to catch the priestess and her friends before they were swallowed up in the horde of hungry demons. It would be nothing for him to generate his cloud at this point. His body was healed and his aura was replenished. As he continued clearing a way towards the center of the cavern, he reflected on the past week. He had learned many new things because of this encounter with the strange, non-human, human, untrained, futuristic priestess. A smirk crossed his otherwise unemotional face as he wondered what other opposite traits the girl possessed. It would be an enjoyable subject to further explore in the future. In his mind, he planned to increase the number of times that his group and Inuyasha's group crossed paths. It would fill the endless delays in the search for Naraku with some entertainment other than watching Rin play and listening to Jakken's tirades.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, could not wait to get Kagome to a safe location, so he could bid good riddance to his brother and the annoying wolf. Of course, right at this moment, the wolf was tops on his "People to Destroy" list. For some reason, Sesshomaru's presence was not as irritating as it usually was. But, the practical, self-preserving side of his brain knew that this mood would not last. Once they were out of the cave, and Sesshomaru's debt to Kagome was paid, it would be back to jabs and insults and death threats. Still, a nagging voice in his head reminded him that Sesshomaru had not approached him threatening death for the last four or five encounters. But that didn't change his mind. He had been hurt by lowering his guard in the past, and was not about to become a victim of an ambush. There was nothing worse than placing your trust in someone only to find you've been betrayed. And once you learned this lesson, it was almost impossible to unlearn. Maybe that was why he felt so strongly about Kagome. She had stayed with him through everything and proven that he could trust her…truly trust her… with anything.

Until the fire cat disappeared into the daylight above, the three canines remained tense. When they knew Kagome was safely away, Inuyasha smiled and flashed a fang. In his normal cocky voice he asked the others, "What do you say we put an end to this once and for all? I'm getting kinda hungry, and want Kagome to make me some Ramen!"

Koga looked confused, "What are you planning to do, dog breath?" Sesshomaru glared at the wolf for the comment that also insulted his own parentage. No one had ever said Koga was a great thinker. It seemed that he could not keep two thoughts in his head at the same time.

Sesshomaru was rewarded by the shiver that coursed down the wolf's body at the glare. Was that also a lowering of the wolf's tail? It wasn't quite between his legs, but it was still satisfying. Maybe the idiot would learn to respect the lineage of the Great Dog General! If not, Sesshomaru had no reservations about separating his tail from his body!

Inuyasha strode forward until he was directly under the hole in the ceiling. He called out, "I was just wondering if this cavern could survive a Wind Scar attack, and how many demons would survive the collapse?" Koga's shocked face was priceless and the very catalyst Inuyasha needed to put his plan into action.

With a vicious grin, Inuyasha launched several Wind Scars towards the four corners of the cavern, making sure to avoid the area where his brother and Koga fought. Debris crashed down about them, but the destruction was not quite enough to collapse everything.

Not to be outdone, Sesshomaru commented, "I grow bored of this fight." Then released his own aura through Tokijin and called down several Dragon Strikes on the remaining structure of the cave. Between the two massive power surges, the ceiling descended in ever larger chunks. It would only be a matter of seconds before every demon under ground was squashed.

So, with that thought, the three canines coiled up the muscles in their legs and leapt up into the glorious daylight. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru sprang again to remove themselves from the collapsing area, while Koga sprinted after them with his top, jewel enhanced, speed. Luckily, Kirara was still in the air above them, and moved to intercept.

When the fire cat touched down, Miroku slumped off her side in a boneless heap and hurriedly placed Kagome on the ground away from him. Sango rushed to the side of her friends, and noticed sweat was pouring off the monk's face. He also had blisters forming on his reddened hands. She had not realized how much damage Kagome's barrier was doing to the brave monk.

Shippo approached Kagome's head cautiously, remembering the scorching his paws had endured when he tried to hug the girl. "Kagome? Are you okay?"

Kagome's face turned towards the little fox. Her eyes were unfocused and confused, like someone who had awakened in the night, that wasn't really awake yet. Her only response was a strained, "Hmm?"

Beside them, the brothers and wolf appeared and looked down on the rescued priestess and the injured monk. Inuyasha asked, "Miroku! What happened? Is Kagome okay?"

Kagome's eyes shifted to look in his direction without recognition and she again responded, "Hmm?" Inuyasha looked shocked but waited for an explanation.

Miroku wearily held up his red, blistered hands and offered, "She is producing some type of barrier that so far has repelled Shippo and myself, but not Sango. Other than that, I am unaware of her physical condition."

Sango leaned gently over Kagome and spoke as she inspected her wounds. "Kagome, can you hear me?" The unfocused eyes shifted to this closer person and the childish voice questioned, "Mom?" Sango just looked confused back over her shoulder at Miroku and Inuyasha, but kept on. "Kagome, can you tell us what happened? Where are you hurt?"

The unfocused eyes took on a frightened look as she whispered, "There were bad things in the dark. Bad things. It bit me." One hand wavered in the direction of her left shoulder where blood had dried around the torn shirt. "Couldn't move. The big one was gonna eat my soul. The poison…s'posed to make soul let go of body." Her head lolled to the other side and she seemed to zone out looking at the sunlight shining around the glade.

Sesshomaru strode purposefully up behind his brother and sniffed at the girl. He almost sighed as he spoke up, "Her wounds are infected again. Move." This last order was leveled at Inuyasha.

Of course, not one to take orders meekly, Inuyasha bristled and stood up to his brother, "And why should I listen to you? What are you going to do about it?"

Sesshomaru simply looked down his nose and commented, "If you want your priestess to live another day, I suggest you move and find out." Inuyasha looked concerned back towards the obviously delirious Kagome, and noted the pleading looks on Shippo's and Sango's faces. Miroku just looked wary with a hand in his sleeve, no doubt ready to extract a sutra to immobilize the demon lord if he should do anything aggressive. Not that it would have much affect with the power level discrepancy between the two, but it was something.

Inuyasha finally conceded is space beside the dazed girl and moved closer to her head beside Shippo. He did not relax his aggressive stance, though. Sesshomaru mentally shook his head as he lowered himself to the ground beside Kagome.

He called out, "Kagome. Focus!" The wide brown eyes sluggishly turned in his direction. Again, she seemed oblivious to her surroundings and did not recognize him either. "I must remove the infection from your system again. Do not fear." He got a simple "Hmm?" in response.

As he explained to the bristling Inuyasha what he was going to do, and the fact that he had done it before, a light of recognition sparked in the sick girl's eyes. Her voice piped up with excitement as she almost yelled out, "Fluffy!" and latched her fingers into the downy fur of his Mokomoko-sama that had floated close to her in a slight breeze. The members of her group stiffened and awaited the righteous indignation and attack that they expected from him. Instead, he simply shook his head and proceeded to lay his hand over the tainted gash on her thigh.

The purity of her barrier stung even his hand, and he knew then why the monk had suffered so at her touch. There seemed to be a fair amount of demonic energy mixed in with her barrier, yet it was somehow still pure. His mind cataloged this with the other contradictions that defined this girl. Somehow she was maintaining a barrier with both holy and demonic power. Something that was utterly impossible. The two competing energies should have nullified each other if they were present in equal amounts.

He growled as he nudged the girl with his knee, "Miko! Control your powers!" Again, the group tensed, not knowing what to expect. Instead of an attack, they watched Kagome focus her eyes on the demon lord with recognition and remorse. Her voice was no longer childish, but still rather subdued when she responded, "I'm sorry, Lord Sesshomaru. I'll try harder."

Only Miroku was spiritually aware enough to sense that her barrier immediately withdrew deep under her skin. It was still present, but no longer causing trouble. Sesshomaru replaced his hand back on the wound and summoned his control of poison.

Koga, Inuyasha and Shippo backed away in disgust at the smell of infection and sluggish blood that seeped out from under the demon lord's hand. It took longer this time than before because the infection had delved deeper into her internal organs, probably because of the weakening caused by the poison. Sesshomaru could almost taste the vile poison that had been injected into her blood stream, and was amazed that she had neutralized it so quickly.

Once he was satisfied with the amount of infection that had been extracted, he removed his hand and gazed upon the face of this strange woman. Yes, the hassle of putting up with Inuyasha's annoying presence was worth saving this girl. Of course, he would never allow anyone to know that. Just as he did not outwardly indicate how important Rin was to him. Still…

His thoughts were halted as Kagome snuggled again into his Mokomoko-sama that she had cuddled during the painful process. He wondered why exactly it could bring her comfort through the pain. Her quiet voice asked him, "Lord Sesshomaru? Am I far enough away? Can I sleep now?"

The confusion on the faces surrounding him almost made him not respond. Still, he replayed the scene in his mind after she had freed herself from the wall of the cave and wanted to sleep, but only if it wouldn't hurt him anymore. What a selfless human. He reassured her, "Hai. Your purification powers are far enough away that my aura is not being affected."

Her sigh was instantaneous, and Kagome dropped off to sleep. Shippo was the first to approach the still seated demon and questioned, "Um, Lord Sesshomaru? What was that all about? Why did Kagome ask your permission to sleep?"

Lifting himself off the ground, he wound his Mokomoko-sama around the sleeping priestess, and lifted her with him. He turned a cold eye towards Inuyasha and demanded, "We are returning to the battlefield. I will not be delayed." As he strode away, the little fox kept up beside him and asked, "How did you get Kagome to stop hurting you with her barrier? If you want, we could take her on Kirara, or on Inuyasha's back."

Sesshomaru glanced out of the corner of his eye at the innocent look on the fox kit's face and commented. "I do not wish the fur of my Mokomoko-sama torn out. The rest will be explained when I have assured Rin's safety." Truthfully, he was not looking forward to relating their adventures in the cave. He was not much for sharing and small talk. Actually, he was hoping that Kagome would make a miraculous recovery and be capable of telling the tale herself. It wasn't an unreasonable hope. As he kept thinking, he had witnessed her do countless things that should have been impossible. Why not start expecting the impossible?

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

AN – I PASSED THE BAR! If you haven't read any of my other stories, I'm officially licensed to practice law! (why is it called practice?)

Thanks to my loyal readers

Kittyb78, ingi-doo, Millenium Ring and Winchester, kayasha uchiha, Kitten of the Moonlight Shadow, Moonflames, Nameless Little Girl, CobaltHeart, NeveR ForsakE ME, Miyavi Fangirl, Torticolis, FluffyandKagome.

Preview - The next chapters transition away from physical interaction between Sess/Kag, but that doesn't mean that the incident is forgotten. Sess finds himself pondering all the things he has learned, and secretly desiring to learn more about Kagome. The burning question of "what is she" must be answered. How can a seemingly unaffected, human-hating demon lord manipulate events to get what he wants? And why can he not keep his well disciplined mind from wandering back to thoughts of the cave? How long before Inuyasha notices that the excuses for their group interactions are just that? lame excuses. And why does Sesshomaru even care what Inuyasha notices or thinks? He must focus on finding and ridding this world of Naraku. Conquest! Expand his power. Still, Naraku seems to attack Inuyasha's group more than anyone else, so why not use them as bait? Still, all work and no play…..

So, see you around the Inuverse™

Oh, and please review if you enjoyed this chapter.


	18. Chapter 18 Echoed thoughts

Chapter 18

Sesshomaru was not enjoying the attention from Inuyasha's companions. He had no intention to carry the girl close to his body, in case she lost control and released a purification blast. Still, she had such a grip on his Mokomoko-sama that he could not disentangle her without a great deal of pain on his part. Darn it, the hair on the end of his Mokomoko-sama was so sensitive! So, as a compromise, he had wrapped the white fur around the girl's sleeping figure and transformed it into a flat pallet-like surface that trailed behind him as he walked. Not on the dirt, of course, he would never be so undignified to let his prized fur drag the ground. Still, he couldn't help feeling disgruntled at having to lower himself to being a pack animal for the girl.

Behind the demon lord, whose aura was spiking with irritation, Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha strode close enough to keep an eye on Kagome. She slept with the face of an innocent babe. Inuyasha couldn't help the feeling that this was just so wrong, on so many levels! How could that arrogant bastard stand touching a human! His brother had done nothing in his life so consistently as ranting about the inferiority of the human species as a whole. Not only that, but how could Kagome stand being wrapped in that tail? Inuyasha's hand twitched on the hilt of his sword as he remembered the times that appendage had struck him, or twisted around his neck in a crushing grip. Sesshomaru had tried to kill them on numerous occasions. Yet Kagome slept undisturbed by his closeness.

Shippo scampered alongside the swift moving demon that transported his friend. Normally, he would only walk upright among the group, but when he needed to cover a great distance with speed, he resorted to all fours, like his ancestor the fox. Frustration ghosted over Shippo's face because he realized that Sesshomaru was not answering his questions. Like any child, he was full of questions and felt the need for everyone to share in his confusion. The fear of this great demon did nothing to dampen his quest for knowledge. So, like only a child could, the little fox kit bombarded the silent demon with question after question, hoping to find one that would be answered.

Sesshomaru again pondered the power of the little fox demon that hopped and jogged beside him. Surely there was some way to determine the parentage of the little one and find if he was truly a higher class demon as Sesshomaru suspected. Maybe there were some tests he could perform during their future encounters. It would be good to know the boy's power potential to decide if he would make a powerful ally in the future.

It seemed that of the entire group, the bond between the fox and the priestess was the closest. Maybe, by assisting in healing Kagome, Sesshomaru had created a debt of honor with the fox that could be useful at a future date. Not that the demon lord could truly foresee an event where he would need the assistance. But, the boy had been quite useful with the disguise in the cave. For one as young as he seemed to be, the fox was quite accomplished.

Sesshomaru had long ago perfected his skill in tuning out annoying voices. It was a necessary survival tactic when traveling for years with Jakken. Some might consider him arrogant, but in truth, he simply felt no compulsion to answer inane questions. Not since his great father died, had he felt anyone had the authority to demand answers from him. And still, the memory of the authority his father held over him made his fur bristle. It galled him that he had not been able to defeat his father and prove himself greater. But, that was neither here nor there, and was only something he allowed himself to ponder in the late night when the stars were at their brightest.

For now, Sesshomaru only wanted to return to the battle scene, collect Rin, deposit the slumbering priestess, and continue on his way. He had had his fill of being around Inuyasha and his annoying group. Although Kagome was an interesting puzzle that he was determined to unravel, it would have to be in small doses. The hatred he felt rolling off his brother was almost unnerving, and was quite unpleasant. The insight he had gained through secretly reading this girl's recollections of their travels had led him to believe that it would take a great deal of time and effort to rehabilitate the relationship he had with his brother. It had never been his intention to make the boy truly believe that his goal was to erase his existence. But he could now see how his actions could be taken that way.

Another problem was the possessiveness that each of Inuyasha's group seemed to have towards Kagome. He had witnessed it before, in their shared battles. And it was not only one sided. The untrained priestess was just as loyal to her friends, and just as willing to throw herself in harms way to protect them. He was still an outsider to this tight group. They would all band together to repel him if he did anything threatening. And, considering the relationship with Inuyasha, a threatening gesture was imminent. It was simply the way they interacted for years.

So, Sesshomaru had to develop a new plan to slowly insinuate himself into their trust so he might further study this anomaly named Kagome. There were still so many questions left unanswered. The biggest being, "what is she?" He had yet to come to a satisfactory conclusion on that one. For that matter, he had yet to really even formulate any possible answers. She totally believed that she was human as her parents were human. But, she didn't smell of gradual decay like all humans, and she was much cleaner than the average human. Yet, she did not smell of any other form of life that he was familiar with either. His curiosity itched at his mind like a flea. Then there was the whole issue of how she neutralized the poison from this encounter, and even the previous encounter with the undead poison master of that annoying Band of Seven. Humans just can't do that!

He still wanted to ask about how humans repelled sickness in a wound like he had witnessed in the cave. Was it something that only this girl had, or was it some defense all humans possessed? It would make a big difference in his treatment of Rin in the future to know how human bodies worked. All his knowledge revolved around destroying human life, not preserving it.

What about the time travel? Was this something that she alone could do, or were there others? Was it something intrinsic to her, or something outside herself that carried her back? If there was a new territory ripe for exploration, his inquiring mind wanted to visit. It would be enlightening to travel to a land that could produce such wonderful and strange products and people.

Then there were questions related to the current quest to rid the world of that pesky Naraku. Why did the conglomeration seek her destruction? Why was Naraku so afraid of this small girl? Sesshomaru had witnessed the power of her arrows, and even been the target of a few. But surely there must be something more to cause the half-breed to fear her so. He did not seem to fear her incarnation in such a manner. Was Kagome even more powerful than her predecessor?

And what of that predecessor, Kikyo? Why was the undead priestess against this girl? Was it jealousy? Rivalry? Fear? He had personally witnessed the undead priestess belittle and force the younger girl to fall into a dry well during the incident with Menomaru. There was no way to trust that golem who was as eager to disclose her plans and purposes as Sesshomaru himself was. The only thing that was certain was that the incarnation was not spending all her time collecting the jewel shards like Kagome was.

Also, what about the jewel? Naraku was hell-bent on gathering all of them to increase his power and presumably become a full demon. Kagome had been distressed upon realizing she had inadvertently made a wish on the complete jewel where she wished she didn't have it. Did that mean it would never again be in her possession? Or did the shattering itself complete that wish to the point that her group would one day retrieve the completed jewel? What did they intend to do once they had the jewel? Knowing Inuyasha, he would probably make some childish, selfish wish that would be little better than the wish Naraku would make.

As he ignored the more annoying and increasingly loud questions from the little fox running beside him, Sesshomaru wondered what exactly Inuyasha would wish for. He was already stronger than their father, as much as it annoyed Sesshomaru to admit that little fact. Kagome had been right in her logical assessment of Inuyasha's ability to destroy Ryukotsusei. Even with their father being distracted by the boy's impending birth, he should have been able to defeat the arrogant dragon.

Sesshomaru had also seen instances where Inuyasha was stronger than himself, when fighting to protect this very same girl who was curled quietly into his fur. Would the boy wish to keep this girl by his side? Or would he foolishly wish to resurrect the golem of his former "love." Just the thought of that other priestess made Sesshomaru want to spit on the ground in disgust. It was beyond his understanding how anyone with such a sensitive nose could hug that fowl combination of death and soil.

Kagome made his brother stronger, faster and harder to kill. That was another question he needed to answer. Was it something in his brother that created this improvement, or something in the girl? If it was the girl, how did Inuyasha access this power? And, would it work for Sesshomaru if he somehow found the key to this ability? Just the thought of growing stronger simply because a human girl accompanied him was almost ludicrous. Still, something was occurring that he could not answer, and she was known to do the impossible and unlikely. He would rule out nothing without further investigation. Maybe it had to do with the unwavering loyalty among the group? They all seemed to fight better when defending one of their own. Did they subconsciously lend each other strength? Or was this some unknown characteristic of humans?

His senses turned to the girl riding on his Mokomoko-sama as he felt movement. A tiny spark of her barrier leaked through her hands as he felt the weak fingers clench and unclench in his downy fur. He almost faltered in his ground-covering strides as he realized she was kneading his fur like a kitten nursing on its mother. One hand would push into his fur and curl, then release as the other hand repeated this action. Was this normal behavior for humans? He reviewed his memory for observations of Rin sleeping to see if he had overlooked this trait. Again, his knowledge of humans was woefully inadequate, as he had only ever paid attention to Rin and now Kagome. Still, he had no memory of Rin acting in such a manner.

Although, there was the possibility that this kneading was simply a manifestation of the human female's obsession with his fur. He decided he would definitely attempt to create a Mokomoko-sama for the two fur-obsessed females. If nothing else, it would save his own fur from being accosted. At best, it would provide some form of protection to the two females that he deemed worthy of such. Their lives were already short enough as it was; he didn't need some outside danger shortening either one.

It truly was a shame that humans lived such short lives. He would have to ask the older demons, most likely Bokuseno the ancient tree, if there were some way to extend their existence. This caring girl would make some wonderful contributions to this time, and to the time from whence she came. Also, he would not have her die before he could have all his questions answered. There was nothing more annoying to be left with questions after the source of the answers was inaccessible.

As the strange procession continued towards the battleground that started this strange chapter in their quest, Miroku was also contemplating many unanswered questions. He was not as oblivious as Inuyasha was to the inner workings of demons and females. It was obvious from the relaxed sleeping posture of their friend, that Kagome had come to trust the fearsome demon lord. On top of that, it was obvious that Sesshomaru had developed some type of relationship with their companion. They had all held their breath and expected an outraged reaction when Kagome had latched onto his tail-thing. But, the demon lord acted like this was not an affront to his person, or that he had experienced this situation before.

Miroku was dying to know what had transpired in the underground cave in the days that they had been missing. His perverted mind envisioned many passionate and depraved things that could have happened, but it was only his fantasy. He knew Kagome would never participate in such things. As far as he could determine over their travels, she never even thought about sex. It wasn't just that she was a virgin, with virgin modesty. It was more like she had not reached the age of maturity when these thoughts even entered her mind.

She had the sexual awareness of a six year old! She knew it was wrong for him to grab butts and spy on baths, but she didn't seem to grasp why he would even want to do such things. He had often wondered about her childish outlook. From what she told him of the future, he knew she was an oddity. She spoke openly about attending things called "sex education" and how her friends had even considered engaging in sex. She had even discussed the future's attitude shifts and how they accepted unwed mothers and premarital sex. It seemed that his form of promiscuity was not only accepted, but flaunted! But for her, she seemed to have no personal interest. The most he had ever seen from her was the time she had kissed Inuyasha. But that wasn't out of desire or passionate affection. It was in an effort to halt his demonic transformation.

Although, Miroku's heart was truly taken by his lovely demon slayer, Sango, there were still parts of his mind that reveled in the thought of teaching the innocent priestess about the joys of carnal love. He had deflowered many an impressionable virgin over the years in his supposed quest for an heir to carry on his family's mission of destroying Naraku. Though, in truth, he had always, unconsciously, taken steps to insure no child was born of his fleeting unions. Still, he had heard tales that no matter what the precautions, if the fates or gods decided a child was to be sired, a child would be sired. After many years of self analysis and meditation, he had concluded that his compulsion for the opposite sex stemmed from his desire to affirm that he was still alive. His curse would soon overwhelm him and he would be no more on this mortal plain. But he wanted to indulge in life while he was here.

Things had changed with the growing affections towards Sango. Although it was difficult, he had actually curbed his insatiable appetite for the intimate embrace of a woman's body. He still enjoyed a casual caress of a plump rump from time to time, but he found the village girls lacking when contrasted with his fair Sango's bottom. His mind wandered to all the wonderful encounters his "cursed" hand had with that forbidden territory of his beloved. It was a fine line he walked between showing his undying affection and passion for the demon slayer, and annoying her just enough to help him stay under control. The day that he groped her and she _didn't_ slap him silly would be the day that he lost control and did something permanent.

He sighed as he glanced down at the cursed beads that encased his hand. It was a strange race between his growing passion for the woman, and his need to be free of Naraku's curse before he could consummate their relationship. His head knew that he could not truly commit himself to her and risk siring children while there was the chance that he would die either from the curse or in battle. If he died he would end up leaving her alone to continue the fight against Naraku. It would be wrong to add the burden of a child to her already heavy load. It would also be wrong to burden her with bearing a child that would perpetuate the damn wind tunnel! He would love any and all of his children, and it would crush him to see that one would suffer the same torment he had faced since he was old enough to comprehend. None of his children would have the dread of constant death hanging over their heads if he could help it!

He shook his head to clear the dark and depressing thought of his imminent demise out of his head and glanced once again at the painfully straight back of the demon carrying his friend. Sesshomaru was also a difficult one to decipher. Usually, the demon showed a lack of concern for anyone's well being other than his own. Yet, he rescued and cared for the little human girl Rin. And from what he could tell from how he lead them to Kagome, and fought the demons to rescue her, he seemed to care, just a bit, about her.

It made sense, from Miroku's point of view, to not show any outwards signs of affection for anyone. If you had the reputation of not caring for anyone, none of your enemies could use your loved ones to coerce you into doing things. There was nothing worse than facing a situation where a friend was being used as a human shield. His mind wandered just for a second and wondered why demons were never used as a "demon" shield. Maybe because they were too quick to be caught and ensnared? Maybe they just didn't have the inclination to sacrifice themselves to save others?

Maybe it was just human nature to be self-sacrificing when friends were in danger. How many times had each of them thrown themselves before danger to protect another. He had seen Kagome throw herself at his wind tunnel the first time they met, to protect Inuyasha. And she hadn't even been in love with the boy at the time. They had almost been uneasy enemies. Yet, she still launched herself at him, knowing from observation, that Miroku would close the wind tunnel instead of harming an innocent. It almost made him laugh at himself.

He had never really thought about it before, but Kagome's actions that day indicated a quick intelligence that analyzed a situation and made logical deductions. She had noticed his attempts to avoid using his ultimate technique until he was well away from the villagers. It was a rare talent for a female, and even rarer for someone as young as she. At times like that, he could almost feel the ancient soul and knowledge that seemed to hide in her soul.

Over the time they had traveled together, he had also noticed that this intelligence was tempered by an innocent childishness. There were times that he swore she hadn't a brain in her head, or a care in her heart. But, he knew this wasn't true. All the times she had faced massacred villages and battle scenes littered with corpses, would have left indelible marks on her heart. The heart-wrenching situation with Inuyasha and Kikyo should have darkened her spirit to the point of tainting the pure shards she carried. When she had been captured by Hakudoshi, he had plumbed the depths of her soul, searching for some darkness to latch onto. There had not been much, but there had been some. Almost enough to give the evil child a purchase on controlling her incredible soul. Yet, somehow, she shook him off and retained her purity.

So, when he thought his dark, perverted thoughts about what had transpired in the missing days, he knew it was only his imagination, and not something possible. She would not have even thought of such a thing. As for that matter, he was fairly sure that the honorable and aloof demon would not consider doing such things with a human.

Again he wondered if Sesshomaru maybe announced his hate for humans a bit too loudly. Was it possible that under all that bluster, there was some concern or affection for their species? It would have been so much easier for Sesshomaru to allow Kagome to die as he removed Rin from the battlefield instead of shielding her from the blast. His mind cheered in triumph. 'Ah ha! He WAS a demon shield!' Still, Sesshomaru could have saved himself and simply left Kagome to her fate again, in the cave. Or, he could have freed himself and not bothered to go back to the crater to find a way to extricate her. All the facts just didn't add up to create a picture of a demon that hated and loathed humans.

Miroku smiled secretively to himself as he formed a plan to keep a closer eye on the interactions between Kagome and Sesshomaru. Maybe, just maybe, there was something there. If not, maybe there was something there he could use to wake Inuyasha up to the terrible mistake he was making by subconsciously choosing Kikyo over Kagome. It was an undisputed fact that Inuyasha became jealous when Koga was around. And from what Kagome had related, this feeling extended to any male in her time that wanted to get close to her. So, if he was careful, he was sure he could use this to educate the oblivious half-breed.

Sesshomaru noticed the peculiar smirk on the monk's face and remembered the strange conversations he had with Kagome in the dark cave. It occurred to him to again possibly mention to Inuyasha that the priestess might be spending too much time around the pervert. He had yet to figure out where her fascination with half demon reproduction had come from. He also made a mental note to keep his innocent and impressionable Rin away from the monk. Just because someone claimed to be a holy man did not mean they had holy intentions and tendencies. It would not do to have the little girl asking the demon lord questions that he could not answer.

Striding alongside the now grinning monk, Sango began to wonder what the pervert was up to. It was bad enough that Kagome was injured, ill, and being carried by one of their enemies. But, now the monk was thinking up things that made him smile. She could only imagine what that might be, and it wasn't good.

Sango was probably the only one that really didn't have a problem with Sesshomaru's attention to Kagome. What did it matter if they weren't on pleasant terms, as long as he could help. Besides, the last few times he had approached them, he had not done his usual "Die Inuyasha and give me Tetsusaiga" routine. In fact, he had been down right helpful. He had refrained from killing Kohaku when the boy had kidnapped Rin. There was the rescue from Mukotsu, when he could have just let them die. There was the time he resurrected the father of that little beaver demon for no other reason other than Shippo begged him. No, she didn't really think he was as big a threat as he used to be in the past.

It wasn't like Sango thought there would ever be a touchy-feely, loving brotherly relationship between the two dogs. But they seemed to be moving towards something not quite so violent. She had seen such relationships among competitive brothers in the demon slayer village when she had been younger. It still saddened her to think that she was technically the last demon slayer left alive. After all, Kohaku wasn't really alive. He was just being animated by the jewel shard in his back.

Then a thought struck her as she looked at her little group. Each one of them had been left behind and was alone. Shippo was orphaned after his parents were killed. Miroku was orphaned after his father was consumed by the wind tunnel. Inuyasha was left alone in the world when his father died protecting him, then his mother died. With the exception of having a distant half brother, Inuyasha was just as alone as she was. Maybe that was one of the reasons they formed such a family like group. They could all empathize with the pain and loneliness of being left alone in the world.

Kagome was the only one that did not fit this mold. She still had a mother, brother and grandfather waiting for her on the other side of the well. Still, the tender-hearted girl was so empathetic, that she felt each of their pain and tried to alleviate it. She was at times the mother of the group. Other times she was the little sister. Sometimes she was the champion fighting their battles, and other times, she was the one in need of rescue. But through it all, she remained a steadfastly loyal friend.

Sango wondered, 'If Kagome decided to befriend another, and bring them into our group, would we accept them as one of our own?' This had happened with Shippo and Miroku before they had all accepted her. And it only seemed normal that it would happen again. Kagome's heart was truly enormous. If Naraku turned good, all of a sudden, Sango was sure that Kagome could even forgive that monster. Not that any of the rest of them would, but Kagome would surely try to convince them to give him a chance.

This brought her back to her thoughts of the demon lord who had part of his furry extension wrapped around her dear friend. If Kagome had befriended the arrogant jerk, then they would have to find a way to tolerate his attitude. Not to mention that annoying imp that traveled with him. The little girl wouldn't be a problem. Rin was fun to have around as she exuded almost as much sunshine happiness as Kagome did on a good day. How the girl survived with the arrogant demon had been the topic of many a good after dinner discussion around the camp fire.

While the humans in his group were silently thinking about Sesshomaru and Kagome, Inuyasha was trying to keep those thoughts as far from his mind as possible. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions about what had happened while they were missing. He wanted someone to tell him before he flew into a rage. He had been on the receiving end of Kagome's righteous indignation when he had falsely accused her of some indiscretion. Instead, he carried a running squabble with the smelly wolf that just wouldn't leave! No matter how much Inuyasha hollered and complained, the wolf just kept right on walking with his group. The two came to blows at one point and the others simply walked away. After a little tree clearing action, the two realized they had been left behind and scurried to catch up to the others. For the remainder of the trek back to the battleground, the wolf and half demon seemed to be competing to see who could be the most annoying.

Sesshomaru's nerves were nearly frayed when he finally smelled the battleground and Jakken. He could smell the toad a mile away, and knew that in a bit, he would be able to detect the subtler scents of Ah-uh and Rin. Surely his stupid brother would stop this incessant bickering once he realized how close they were to their destination. The boy was even more annoying than Kagome at her worst. 'Hm. Maybe this is why Kagome talks too much. She's trying to talk over Inuyasha's idiocy.'

Finally, with an almost audible sigh, Sesshomaru rounded a bend in the path and saw the two headed dragon with Rin asleep on the saddle. If it weren't for his dignity, he would have run the last few meters and hugged the stuffing out of the girl and dragon. His means of escape was present and healthy. Now, if luck were on his side, he could dislodge Kagome without too much fur loss, and launch into the sky before any of that annoying questioning could be turned his way. If he had to spend another minute with his brother or that wolf, he was going to either behead someone or neuter them! Males that idiotic should not be allowed to breed!

Rin cheered his name and leapt off the dragon. She always greeted him like a happy puppy welcoming his master home. The members of the group straggled up to the camp fire that blazed beside the crater. Sesshomaru chose a nice grassy patch for his attempt at rousing the girl and regaining the use of his Mokomoko-sama.

Sango thought about retrieving the shredded sleeping bag to make Kagome more comfortable, but then thought better of the reminder of the attack in the dark. Instead, she suggested, "Kirara, do you think you could help make Kagome comfortable?" In an instant, the tiny cat transformed into her larger, fighting size and curled around the sleeping girl. Sango smiled. It seemed that contact with Kagome didn't hurt the demon anymore.

Sesshomaru removed the length of his fur that was wrapped around the sleeping girl, until all that she held was the tip. He maneuvered her body around until she was leaning against the fur of the fire cat. Maybe she would trade the cat's fur for his. With a gentle nudge with his knee, Sesshomaru ordered, "Kagome, wake up."

Unfocused brown eyes blinked slowly open and a huge, tongue-curling yawn split her face. Again, her only vocal response to the command was a sleepy, "Hmm?" It seemed she was so asleep that she no longer understood spoken language. This would be funny if he weren't being watched by six pairs of eyes. So, he tried again in a harsher tone. "Kagome, wake up and release this Sesshomaru's Mokomoko-sama!"

The tone seemed to register in her brain as she released her prize bit of fluff. Instead, she rolled over onto her hands and knees. Once she was up, she leaned forward on her hands to stretch her legs out behind her. Then, she rocked her weight back onto her knees, and stretched her arms out before her. It was a very feline gesture and took the group by surprise. Once that was done, she arched her back up like a cat hissing, then plopped down on her rump to look around.

Sango commented, "Since when did she stretch like that? She looks just like Kirara after a nap."

Speaking of Kirara brought the groups attention to the resident feline that was currently rubbing her big head along Kagome's face and shoulders. Interestingly enough, Kagome was imitating the feline greeting exactly, minus the purr. Although, they couldn't tell if Kagome was actually purring because Kirara was purring so loudly.

Miroku's smirk from before had vanished and been replaced by a worried scowl. He knelt beside their friend and questioned, "Lady Kagome? Are you feeling well?" Instead of answering him, Kagome turned towards the voice and launched herself into the monk's lap. Unfortunately, he was not braced for such a reaction, and sprawled on his rump, with his legs flying out before him. He gulped and turned to inspect Inuyasha's reaction and knew that if this didn't change very quickly, he would be facing an enraged half demon.

As everyone either gasped or exclaimed at her strange behavior, Miroku tried again. "Um, Lady Kagome? I don't think this is really appropriate behavior, especially not in front of the children." It was a valiant effort, but all it earned the bewildered monk was a rub of Kagome's face against the planes of his stomach. She spotted his hand hovering at his side, and forced her head under his hand so it landed on top of her head.

Sango recognized this behavior. Kirara often did this to her when she wanted to be petted. So, Sango offered, "Well, monk. Maybe you should pet her? That seems to be what she wants."

Miroku's face went white as his perverted mind supplied another definition for "petting." He KNEW he couldn't do THAT! Not only would he never do that with the innocent Kagome, but he knew several people surrounding him would; end his life, cut off his hands, and/or castrate him. None of the prospects were good. So, instead, he moved his hand across the crown of her hair and down to her neck and stopped. Sure enough, he was rewarded with a very human version of a purr. How odd. She then curled up on his lap, as much as a nearly adult girl could curl up on a man's lap, and closed her eyes again.

Inuyasha yelled, "What the hell is she doing? Did she get possessed by a cat demon or something?"

Behind him, Koga was hollering, "Hey, monk! Get your hands off my Kagome!"

As much as Sesshomaru wanted to stay and explore this new development in the mysterious character of Kagome, he knew this was a perfect opportunity to escape while the group was distracted. His plan would have worked perfectly, if Rin had not chosen to thank her savior. Just as the demon lord turned to collect his companions, Rin stepped around him and piped up in her happy voice, "Rin wants to thank Lady Kagome for saving her!"

This caused Kagome's eyes to open sluggishly and peer at the little girl who stood three feet away. In a slow, cat like manner, Kagome rose again to her hands and knees and rubbed her body around the girl's legs like a big lazy Tom cat. Rin giggled and patted Kagome on the head like she would Kirara murmuring, "Good Kagome kitty."

Miroku was grateful to be relieved of his position as cat bed and turned to Sango as he arose from the ground, "Do you think she's delirious? Maybe that's why she's acting like a cat? She was surely not acting like this in the cave."

Sango simply shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. To tell you the truth, I've never seen anything like it."

Inuyasha pushed forward and yelled at the girl, "Kagome, stop that! You look ridiculous!" Her face swung around to stare at him and she stopped her cat imitation. Inuyasha huffed, "That's more like it! Now, you need to tell us what happened while you were gone!"

Sensing a change in the dynamics of the interaction, Sesshomaru turned and strode over to his dragon. Calling over his shoulder he commanded, "Come, Rin." Inuyasha's group would interrogate the girl, and would not need his limited input. Now was the perfect time to make his exit.

Before anyone could protest, Rin turned on her heels and called, "Coming Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru spun around and stared at the little group in shock. Had he imagined it? There had been an echoing call of "Coming Lord Sesshomaru" and it came from Kagome.

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AN: okay, a few thoughts.

Someone thought Sesshomaru seemed to be forgetting everything he learned in the cave and leaving. I studied Sesshomaru in many episodes and consulted Rumiko Takahashi's "Inuyasha Profiles" book. She states about Sesshomaru's mind. "Sesshomaru has a very inquiring mind when there is something he cares about. But, at the same time, he has almost no tenacity of purpose. If he becomes interested in something else, he will arbitrarily turn his back on what he is doing, even during battle." The scene she used to illustrate this trait was after Inuyasha managed to cut Sesshomaru's face after he showed up with a human arm. The language in the scene is "We're going Jaken. So long as I cannot wield the blade, there is no point dawdling."

I keep spelling Jaken's name with 2 "N"s. I know this is wrong, but I see Jaken and want to pronounce it "jake-n". I was taught that you need two consonants to make the short sound of the vowel. Thus, 2 "N"s. Sorry. You'll just have to deal with this quirk.

I was told in a review on another website, that my story was "tedious" but interesting. This made me think. Maybe I should create the "Forced Contemplation: ADHD version." It would be the same story, just broken down into bite size morsels for those among my readers who can't sit still for more than ten minutes. Say, 1200 words per chapter or so. Maybe less. It would stretch the story five or six times longer, as each chapter is usually 4000 to 6000 words long. It's just a thought. Let me know what you think…if you could stay to read this far.

Does anyone else find this ironic? I mean, the title is "Forced Contemplation." And someone wants it to be quick like the very over-hurried lifestyle that this story is fighting against! Hehe. I just think it's funny. They were "forced" to endure long chapters.

Thanks to my readers for nominating me for IYFanguild polls again. Unfortunately, some mediator determined there is a problem with my grammar and punctuation and disqualified my story. To them I say… "Huh?" This is the same story it was 4 chapters ago when it won 2nd place in their 2nd quarter polls. If my grammar and punctuation has declined in the last 3 months, would someone please tell me so, and where. I know I fall victim to the occasional run on sentence, and my verb tenses sometimes switch from past to present, but I try hard to correct my mistakes when noticed. (yes, this was a run on sentence on purpose to illustrate!)

Anyway, whatever! Thanks to all my faithful readers. I loved all the reviews, and wish I could respond to each and everyone individually. But I'm finding it hard to even write on this story, as I'm now gainfully employed! For at least a 4 week trial period.

Stacerue – Thanks, I'm glad you like this story. I always seem to think outside the norm (which really annoyed my law school professors). You are my new best friend for telling me about the "adinuyasha" website!!!!! AWESOME! I spent an entire day doing nothing but reading the current manga happenings of my favorite man in white! Okay, so I was reading about Inu/Kik/Kag too.

Sysclp – Thanks. I can't wait to watch the relationship develop too. But like anything in life, they take two steps forward and one step back, then they have to dodge the obstacles fate and others (namely the authoress) toss in their way. Hold on for a bumpy ride.

Julie5 – Thank you. My secret for doing all that work and writing this story… this was my escape when the real world got too hectic. I mean, come on, a person can only stay up until 2am reading law for so many months before they'll crack! This was my sanity saver! Thank you for the vote of confidence and loyalty.

Blue-Ribbon98 – Yes, the last chapter was cut a bit short on the end. Let's face it, it took soooooo long for them to get there that I was running out of steam with that train of events. The fight scene took a while to choreograph, and the reactions to something traumatic are usually delayed anyways. That was what this chapter was for. Shifting gears from fight/flight response to questioning what happened.

Bluemiko – Thanks about the comment about the fight scene. I tried to make it epoch like the fight against Ryukotsusei. As far as if Sess is going to just be curious or develop romantic thoughts about Kagome, I guess you'll just have to stick around and see. (evil laughter)

Nameless Little Girl – thanks!

Lildevil0644 – thanks! I hope this new installment satisfies your need for more.

Kittyb78 – thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

CobaltHeart – yea, Shippo is a cute innocent influence. I hope you enjoy the post-cave plot lines as much as I've enjoyed hatching them.

Katie33h – thanks! I never knew how tough battle scenes could be, but my trusty Inuyasha action figures came in handy again. I'd offer you a job, but I'm not the boss. I'm the lowly peon associate lawyer right now. But it's still fun so far.

NamineFlower – thanks! I hope this new installment satisfies your need for more. See, patience does pay off.

Melodi Moon – thanks! I love Sess/Kag too. They are such good opposites, but then again, not really if you dig into their personalities and look beyond the surface.

Demonlordlover – thanks! Yes, introspective Sess… it's almost Halloween, must have something scary.

Moonflames – thanks! I would have loved an Inuyasha section on the bar! I would ace that easy! I'm glad you could hear the little girl voice when Kagome asked if she could sleep. That means I did something right! And the brothers working together. They actually do a little bit of that in the anime, before they cancelled the series. I just took it a bit farther and gave them a common irritant. They both love a challenge, even if it's each other.

Kurokajin – thanks! It's wonderful to get a cross over fan from one of my other stories. Yes, Captive Audience is me on Single Spark also. That story there is not quite as up to date as this one. This is my primary story. I try to edit each chapter a few chapters later, and put it up over there. That way I can catch any errors, and then update this one over here. I can't imagine you reading all 17 chapters of this straight through! It must have taken hours! I'm glad you are enjoying both stories. I'm trying to alternate and give each story its turn in my imagination so none get cheated. I've pretty much exhausted the Fruits Basket story, though, so it's dormant. The other three live and thrive in my free time! There are many diamonds in the rough, and hopefully, I've got most of them on my favorites list. I love reading other stories almost as much as I like writing my own! Thanks again for all the kind words.

Sakura Taichou – thanks! I'm sorry to disappoint, but we won't find out too soon what exactly Kagome is. I can tell you, she's not going to sprout into a demon or half demon. That's too overdone. I hope you will enjoy the suspense until the answer is revealed. Let's hope I'm not snooty! I have no grounds to think I'm better than anyone else. I'm at the bottom of the food chain right now, and I'm just trying to not make any enemies!

Silvara – thanks! I'm glad you think Sess is in character. My first writing of this story, I had him IC for 8 chapters or so, then he became more talkative than Kagome! Oops! Major re-write ensued! I'm trying to keep Kagome in character. The only thing I refuse to do is the whole "Inuyasha! Kagome! Inuyasha! Kagome!" crap! I mean, they do plenty of that in the anime and it's embarrassing! I'm not going to contribute to that cliché! Oh, and Miroku/Sess interactions. I admit, if you look at Rumiko Takahashi's "InuYasha Profiles" book, Miroku is actually smarter than Sesshomaru (so is the new and improved Naraku for that matter). But, the demon lord is a lot more arrogant, and would probably castrate our favorite monk if he thought he was being talked down to. Miroku is smart enough to tailor his conversation to suit his audience. Hehe

FluffyandKagome – thanks but I guess you did have to wait. Sorry, but good things come to those who wait!

Restive silence – thanks! It is funny how many people find this story for the first time whenever I post a new chapter. It's great fun!

Orchidaceae – you are welcome and here you go.

Imuzuok – I bow down to the keeper of the crickets! You are doing a great job! This last chapter garnered more reviews than any chapter before it! Thank you for the kind words. I hope this had enough "kawaii" to satisfy your Kag/Sess sweet tooth.

Miss Kagura – thank you for the kind words. I appreciate the nomination on IYFanguild. Still not quite sure why it was DQ, but I don't really care that much. I'm still having fun, and this is still my stress reliever!

Whew! So many reviews! It's wonderful! I love to get feedback about things you like. I can't promise I'll do those more, but you never know!

See you around the Inuverse™! (I was going to do the whole, 'same bat time, same bat channel' thing, but thankfully, we've seen the last of the bats!)


	19. Chapter 19 Soul Food

Rin ran on towards the dragon, unaware of the strange looks that passed from person to person in the group behind her. Kagome's was the strangest look of all, in that there was no look. As far as her face revealed, she had not said anything unusual. For that matter, she still looked unaware of her surroundings.

Sesshomaru would have believed that his ears had played a trick on him if Inuyasha had not whispered, "Why did she answer him like Rin? She even sounded like the brat."

Sango made the only suggestion that sounded reasonable at the moment, "I don't know, but maybe we should get her to Kaede. Maybe she could tell us what's wrong with Kagome."

Miroku turned to the frozen Sesshomaru and questioned, "Lord Sesshomaru? Was there anything that happened in your captivity that could account for Kagome's strange behavior?" All eyes turned to the demon lord who simply stood pondering this unusual development. After several moments passed, and it seemed like he would ignore them, he responded, "Nothing."

As the group watched, the priestess sleepily closed here eyes and swayed a moment before crashing back to the ground in a dead sleep. After a minute of just watching the girl sleep, Miroku cautiously knelt beside her and held out his burned hand over her body. With closed eyes, he reported, "I don't feel any demonic possession. She just seems to be asleep. Although…" he paused a moment as a frown formed on his handsome face. "I do feel some type of turmoil in her spirit. And there seems to be a hint of demonic energy mixed in with her own power." He opened his purple eyes and cupped his chin with his hand as he thought. "Could this simply be like those who walk in their sleep, unaware of their surroundings?"

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Gray clouds obscured her vision. She blinked her eyes in an attempt to clear up the scene. Nope, it wasn't her eyes that caused this distortion. It was just foggy. Up ahead, the mist seemed thinner, so she walked in that direction. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't actually walking, more like gliding or floating. The ground beneath here feet was sharp and jagged, and would have torn at her bare skin.

Kagome fixed her eyes on that thinning area of swirling mist and continued forward. There was almost a pull to move in that direction; a compulsion. It was quite odd. It almost felt like the presence of a Shikon shard.

After an endless time of traveling in that direction, the swirling fog pulled back to reveal enormous bones scattered about in the craggy terrain. Above her head, skeletal birds that resembled pterodactyls in a museum, circled on the air currents. She remembered this place. She had been here twice before, and neither time had been enjoyable. This was the in-between world that served as the tomb of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father. Abstractly, she had always wondered how their father had come to this place before he died, so he could rest his bones here. Or, was there some way to send ones remains to this place after he died?

She sloughed off the questions as she scanned the landscape. The first time she had traveled to this place, there had only been the bones of the great Dog General visible. Now, there were more large and medium sized skeletons scattered about the plains. Off to one side, the Dog General still dwarfed the next largest corpse visible in this realm. A strange sense of familiarity blossomed in her chest as she looked about.

Her past journeys to this place ended at the Dog General's remains, but this time, the pull came from the area past the tomb. An area in the mist glowed a pinkish red and it pulled her floating self towards it. As she drifted in that direction, she noticed other balls of mist traveling that way.

In a moment, she left behind the graveyard of bones and passed through the pink shroud of mist to behold a different scene. Below her, in this new place, there teamed thousands, if not millions, of creatures swarming along the landscape. If it were not for the shape and size, she would have sworn she looked down upon a colony of ants; red ants; with arms and legs; and wailing faces. With a gasp, she realized she was looking into the masses trapped in the afterlife; what some people called Hell. She had seen this once before, when they had fought against Sounga. This is what it looked like when the cursed Sword of Hell had opened the gate between the worlds and started sucking in all the souls of Earth.

Suddenly, Kagome realized that the swirling bits of mist that traveled in the same direction as she must have been souls. Only, this time, they were not stolen souls, but the souls of humans and demons that had recently departed the living world. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the strange lighting, and noticed the little green imp-like creatures that carried the little souls around her. Did any of those imps have a hold of her?

Sure enough, she noticed four such creatures gently holding her clothing, and carrying her towards this place. Yet, strangely, she felt no fear or apprehension in this journey. It just seemed natural. The distant wonder of 'Did I die?' flittered through her head, but then vanished as quickly as it had arrived.

Far below her, one area seemed to be devoid of the churning masses of inhabitants. The open area also seemed to crackle with blue and purple light; something akin to lightning. Of course, that was the area her little imps were tugging her towards.

About ten feet before her soul reached this area, her consciousness seemed to depart from that soul, and drift off slightly above the open area. She could see, from the outside that the soul she had been riding with, for lack of a better term, came to rest before the great mass of crackling energy. It seemed to join a pool of other such souls.

Out of the red haze, a great swaying figure approached. Kagome again tried to blink her eyes to bring this image into focus. Again, it wasn't a trick of her eyes. It seemed that this blurry being was forming out of the mist.

A few moments later, the mist solidified into the massive shape of the Dog General himself. This was not the giant dog she had seen the skeleton of, but instead, this was the image that had appeared to the Dog Brothers after Sounga had been defeated. Kagome gasped at the sheer power and beauty of this demon. He was the best of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru rolled into one. In one hand he held what seemed to be a small white soul that he released to join the pool of other souls in the clearing.

It occurred to her that the blue and purple lightning was actually his power keeping the roiling masses at bay. Not only that, but in that one spark of recognition, she realized that the horrible sword Sounga was strapped to this impressive demon's back. Had he regained control over his evil sword after the brothers had vanquished it back to Hell where it belonged? Hadn't she actually asked Sesshomaru about that when they were trapped in that awful cave? From all appearances, it seemed that the Dog General had indeed asserted himself as Ruler of the Underworld.

In the area below her, she noticed that it was not only the Dog General who stood in the clearing. Floating in the center was what appeared to be a half purified Shikon No Tama. Surrounding that jewel were more souls that appeared as blurry people. These souls all stood with their backs to the jewel as if guarding it.

Curiosity pulled her closer towards these sentries. _'Why would anyone want to guard that cursed jewel in the afterlife?'_ She was shocked to see some faces materialize that she recognized. The first she knew was Sango. The demon slayer stood as regal and poised as ever, with her fearsome weapon ready to strike. Beside her stood Kirara in her battle mode. Kagome looked on either side of the woman, expecting to see her favorite monk, but he was not present in the line of guards. Instead, she glanced towards the floating jewel to find him kneeling in a group of three with the jewel between them. The other two in the group were Kikyo and a woman who looked suspiciously like the petrified remains in the cave where the Shikon No Tama was born. This must then be Midoriko. These three seemed to be deep in prayer, since they were all kneeling around the jewel with their heads bowed and their eyes closed.

As her eyes cleared more, she could see a second line of holy people between the guards and the three kneeling. A young woman who resembled Kaede was among that second group of monks and priestesses who all looked vaguely familiar. There was even a woman who could be none other than the Priestess Sukione that had appeared to plead with her lover, the demon Hoshioni to relinquish the Kenkon Naginata (Halberd of Heaven and Earth). And weren't those two priestesses in red and blue the young apprentices of Tsubaki? It seemed that almost everyone in this strange collection of humans and demons was someone she knew.

The outer ring of guards also held many that she knew, other than Sango and Kirara. There was Hoshione, the demon lover of Sukione, looking fierce with that cursed Naginata that had caused so much destruction. One resembled her friend the half-demon Jinengi, and right beside him was a white haired young woman who could have been the older version of Shiori. _'What is all this? Some kind of Kagome's life in review?'_ Her eyes were drawn to the near side of Sango, where a teenage girl stood. On first glance, Kagome had not paid this girl much attention. Now that she realized everyone seemed familiar, she looked closer. It was like looking in a mirror, except the silky black hair was pulled to the side in a lop-sided ponytail. Was that Rin?

Shock registered in Kagome as she realized that for all her friends to be here, that meant they were dead. _'Wait! How did they die? They were just with me a little while ago when I fell asleep…. Weren't they?'_ She frantically searched the faces before her looking for some explanation. This just wasn't right! These people weren't dead!

Off in the distance, beyond the bare ground, the roiling masses of the dead moaned and screeched to be allowed forward. A great gnashing of teeth could be heard mixed in with the babble. A great blackness rose from the depths and moved slowly towards the clearing of blue and purple lightning. In the corner of her peripheral sight, she saw the form of the Great Dog General stride to intercept the approaching danger.

A massive creature of indescribable horror rose to tower over the clearing. The shadow of this being destroyed the roiling masses that it touched. Kagome shivered, knowing instinctively that this was the epitome of evil. This was Lucifer; the Devil; Satan. This was the entity that tortured souls for eternity. Eerily familiar laughter echoed up from the depths of this thing and froze her to the spot. The laughter had haunted her for all the time she had been in the past. It had jeered at her attempts to rescue her friends and change the fate of the world. It had mocked her optimism, and tried to squash her spirit. It had haunted her dreams in the future. It was definitely Naraku's laughter.

Her eyes widened in shock as she looked upon this ultimate evil and realized it was Naraku. Closer inspection revealed the countless bodies of hapless demons that had been absorbed and morphed together into this grotesque parody of a being. With her eyes that had become accustomed to seeing in the Afterlife, she could make out each individual demon. She could even see the lone human that had served as the catalyst for this monstrosity. There wasn't much left of that Onigumo in this creature. Probably just enough to keep the merger from unraveling.

The Great Dog General stepped into her line of sight, and blocked the horrific approach of Naraku. That single movement seemed to free her from her terror-induced paralysis. She stared at the broad back covered in the shimmering white fur of his Mokomoko-sama. Her eyes wandered down the expanse of fur as her hands involuntarily twitched to touch it. The end was split into two tails.

With one smooth movement, the evil sword Sounga was drawn from its sheath on the Dog General's back and moved to guard against the advancing evil. A small sound of discomfort drew her eyes back to the jewel. The three kneeling in the inner circle were sweating and gasping with exertion. How could she have missed the fact that the jewel was darkening with Naraku's approach.

A deep authoritative voice boomed out over the din of wailing and gnashing. "Midoriko. It is time. Send the jewel on its way." This voice was so much stronger than when she had heard him speak after Sounga was sealed away.

As she watched, the three kneeling monk and priestesses were joined by the second layer of monks and priestesses. The chant changed, and the corporeal bodies of each seemed to fade to reveal only the white circle of their souls. The holy energy merged into a giant white ball that surrounded and obscured the darkening jewel. Then, the layer of guards turned to face the ball of white energy, and the same happened to them. The demons in the group dissipated into a darker orb of energy, and the humans dissolved into a grey orb of energy. These too moved to surround and obscure the white spiritual power of the first layer.

Kagome could only watch in awe at the enormous transformation of energy. She could no longer see the individuals that made up the whole. The swirl of the mixing energies from the demons, humans and holy people made a beautiful pattern across the surface of this orb. It was a mesmerizing display.

The roar of disapproval echoed about the clearing and caused an intense pain to spear through Kagome's head. How could she have forgotten about the approach of Naraku? Her eyes snapped back to the giant form that now towered well above the confident Dog General. With an effortless gesture, Sounga was swung to open a portal that appeared above the clearing.

The orb of souls began to slowly ascend into the air behind the Dog General. Kagome found herself being pulled upward, somehow following the ball of spirits. In a roar of power, the dog demon exploded into a ball of smoke and flame to emerge as the enormous being she had seen only as a skeleton. His omnipresent voice silenced every other sound in the underworld as it echoed, "Midoriko, remember our bargain."

Then everything grew silent as Kagome followed in the wake of the soul covered jewel that entered the portal. The air shimmered with the same effect she experienced every time she used the Bone Eaters Well. How strange this all was. Gently, the effect ended, and she did indeed recognize the old, familiar interior of the well. Glancing above her, she noticed the ceiling that always signaled her arrival in her own time. Above her, the soul orb was almost larger than the opening of the well itself. It seemed to shift to accommodate the smaller space, and rise gracefully out of the dank well.

Kagome had never experienced floating out of the well, not even in her dreams. So this was a totally alien feeling for her as she was still tugged along in the path of the soul. She watched as she was dragged towards the house where she was born and raised. Why was it going there? Though she was curious, she seemed to instinctively know the answers would be revealed eventually. So, she simply observed.

They drifted to the upstairs windows and entered the one she recognized to belong to her Mom. In the bed that appeared in the corner of the room, two forms were huddled together in peaceful sleep. Her mind seemed to comprehend that this was her Mom and Dad, but no feelings of joy or confusion accompanied this realization. It was as if she were some disinterested third party, just watching someone else's family.

Slowly, the spirit orb settled over the smaller figure in the bed, and disappeared into the form. A warm feeling flooded Kagome as she listened to a small thumping rhythm. Instinctively, she knew that she was listening to a heartbeat from inside her Mother's womb. The world around her began fading into a gray haze, but the sound never faded. A single word echoed around in her mind as consciousness faded along with the world. 'Home.'

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A murmur came from the girl on the ground. Everyone held their breath and wondered if more unusual behavior would come from their friend. The sleepy voice was clearly Kagome's this time as she complained, "Do you guys have to talk so loudly? I'm trying to sleep here."

Sesshomaru had still not turned away from watching the group. This development was strange enough that he didn't think anyone would notice that he had reacted strongly when he turned at hearing Rin's voice echoed from Kagome. His initial curiosity of 'what is she' had returned with even stronger force. _'Why was she imitating people in her sleep?' _

It was true, what he told the group. She had not acted like this in the cave. He had spent several nights with her, and even watched her sleep one night, out of sheer boredom. So, something must have happened in the time he was absent. Not one to offer help or suggestions when not asked it shocked even him when he volunteered, "Possibly the poison from the bat demons is to blame for this odd behavior."

Still with eyes closed, Kagome grumbled, "Who's acting odd? You better not be calling me odd! I've gone through a lot of crap in the last week, and if I want to sleep late, then I don't see the problem! Now, shut up so I can get back to dreaming."

Now this was more like the Kagome they knew in the mornings. Most of the day she was a happy, loving person, with minor fits of anger and yelling (mostly directed at Inuyasha). But in the morning, she could be a bear if they woke her wrong.

Miroku still knelt beside her and grinned an evil smile, "Kagome, don't you have a big test coming up?" This had the desired effect. Her doe brown eyes snapped open, and she jack-knifed into a sitting position with a scream of "Whaaaaaat? What day is it?!" She scanned the many dials on her watch and realized that she DID have a big test coming up in two days. In a complete panic, she scrambled over to her backpack and tried to throw it on her shoulder. She rambled, "Oh, no! I've got a major test in Social Studies and I haven't even begun to study. I'll fail for sure. Oh! I've got to get back home!" It wasn't until she tried to stand and her ankle collapsed under the weight that she stopped to realize what had happened.

By the time she groaned at the aches in her body, everyone was smiling at her; everyone except for Sesshomaru, of course. He wouldn't smile unless he were thinking of some truly evil fate he was about to unleash on an enemy.

Sango leaned over to look into Kagome's watering eyes and asked, "Are you okay now?" Sure, the girl was always a bit strange, but acting like a cat and imitating Sesshomaru's companion were beyond the usual weird. Being the slightly jaded demon slayer that she was, a tiny doubt tickled Sango's mind that this was an imposter.

Kagome just frowned and looked at her group and hesitated, "Um, yea. I'm fine. Why? Did something happen while I was asleep?" She eyed the closeness of Miroku who still knelt beside her. Kagome whispered towards Sango in a voice that carried to all of them. "Did Miroku try to grope me or something?"

Her question caused an amused huff to come from Inuyasha. While at the same time, it wiped the smile off Miroku's grinning face. Miroku brought his hand up to his chest and struck a long-suffering pose as he lamented, "No one trusts or understands me. I am deeply wounded, Lady Kagome. Surely you would not think me so low as to molest a girl in her sleep!"

Kagome turned to the overly dramatic man and sneered, "Oh, I TRUST you, Miroku. I trust you to take advantage of ANY situation and to grope ANYTHING female."

Miroku stood and bowed before the group, "Lady Kagome, I am truly insulted. I'll have you know I do not grope anything female. I have very discerning tastes, and only grope the young, firm, _attractive_ females." Then he smiled an unrepentant grin and sidestepped away from the two women who looked at him like he was diseased.

A deep, annoyed growl came from Inuyasha as he ignored the monk. "Whatever! So, Kagome, can you tell us what happened now? You were acting awfully weird before you woke up. What happened while you were gone?" Inuyasha was careful not to word his question to make the girl angry, but his guilt over losing her would not let him wait for her answer.

Kagome looked down at her legs and began the tale of the cave. "Well, when I woke up, I was trapped by some rocks and dirt. I realized Sesshomaru was beside me and we couldn't get out. My powers were acting up and interfering with his healing, so I stayed awake as long as I could. Then, we started digging me out." Distracted by the retelling of the days in the cold cave, Kagome brought her leg closer to her body and unwrapped the mound of Ace™ bandages that held the notebook in place.

"A big mole demon came through and gave us more room. Ha, did it stink. Oh, and it stormed on us once! That was NASTY! Mud and water everywhere! I thought the cave was going to fill up and drown us!" She was so caught up in retelling the adventure, Kagome never saw the half-demon tense every time she used the word "us."

"When I was free, _someone _decided to go exploring and leave me alone _all day!_" She turned a glare in the direction of the demon lord who was still glued to the spot in contemplation. "So, of course, I had to go see if he had gotten hurt or maybe found a way out and left me behind."

Sesshomaru visibly tensed as the girl not only disparaged his strength, but his honor as well. '_To think those simple bat demons could harm this Sesshomaru. Preposterous! Though, she is correct in that I entertained the thought of leaving her to her friends to find. She should be grateful that I returned with her companions. I have better things to do than to concern myself with the welfare of humans!'_ Somewhere in the back of his preoccupied mind, Sesshomaru wondered why he had not taken advantage of the group's distraction to escape. His hope had been that the girl would wake to answer the questions of his brother's pesky friends. Now that she was doing just that, shouldn't he be leaving? But, he found himself waiting to hear what transpired with Kagome while he was absent. Curiosity was a terrible thing to possess sometimes.

Kagome stopped glaring at the imposing white dog demon because it had no effect on him at all. Her mind returned to her tale and she faced her friends as she resumed. "So, I packed up everything and hopped off down the tunnel. It was dark and scary, especially when my flashlight started dying!"

Shippo could sense the lingering fear return at the girl's memory of the encroaching darkness and chose that moment to climb into her lap to offer comfort. He was thankful that she no longer zapped him with a touch. Once her hand started stroking his tail, the smell of fear dissipated.

She continued her tale in a subdued voice, "It was so dark and I couldn't tell which way to go. So, I decided to set up my sleeping bag and wait for him to come back. But that ugly bat demon showed up behind me and scared me half to death!"

Shippo looked up at her and asked, "Was that the one that ripped up your bag and carried you away?" She smiled down at the boy and shook her head. "Nah. This one got scared and flew away when I screamed at him. I guess his sensitive ears couldn't handle it." Among those listening, three canine demons and one fox nodded their heads in understanding and sympathy; for the bat, that is. Kagome could be louder than a dragon when she was so inclined.

She ignored the reactions and continued, "No, the one that grabbed me didn't show up until later, when I was trying to sleep! What is it with demons and disturbing my sleep? Is it a conspiracy? Just because demons don't need as much sleep doesn't mean the rest of us can function without it!"

Inuyasha couldn't stand it anymore, "Kagome! What happened next?"

Her eyes grew wide at the memory, "It BIT ME! That nasty old bat thing had the nerve to bite me! It better not have been a vampire, because if I turn into the living dead, I'm gonna bite a few people who shall remain nameless." She would have stomped around the clearing if her ankle was not so tender still. At least, the swelling had gone down and she could flex her foot gingerly.

Miroku asked, "Lady Kagome? What's a vampire?" It was a term he had never heard in all his travels. But, that was not unusual. Apparently there were many things in the future that did not exist in their time. He had learned over their travels that it was just better to ask her than to try and figure out what she was talking about on his own.

The simple question jolted her out of her ranting as she turned innocent eyes to the monk in purple. "Huh? Oh, a vampire is a fictitious creature who used to be human, but was bitten by another vampire and turned into one. They hunt at night and drain blood from their victims. Oh, and they can't go out in the sunlight or they'll burn up and turn to dust. I'd hate to be a vampire because then I wouldn't be able to go out in the sun and enjoy the beach with my friends on Spring Break."

Everyone, including Sesshomaru, thought "Huh?" Only Miroku listened closely enough to have more questions. "What does 'fictitious' mean?" Kagome waved a hand around in front of her like she was swatting a bug, "Oh, you know. It means made up, invented, not real."

Miroku stored this away for future reference. It was always helpful to catalog the new concepts and words that Kagome used so he could translate for the group. She almost spoke a foreign language.

So, Miroku asked his next vampire related question. "Um, Lady Kagome. If each vampire is created by being bitten by another vampire, wouldn't there have to be one that was the first that started all this biting?"

Before she could answer, Inuyasha bellowed, "Who gives a damn about made up blood suckers! What happened in the cave!" Kagome glared at Inuyasha hard enough to make him gulp and fear sudden contact with the ground. But she didn't say that word. Instead she continued her story.

"Well, after the stinker bit me, my limbs got really heavy, and I found I couldn't move. It carried me a long way and brought me to a bigger cave where there was a barrier and some jewel shards. Crossing that barrier hurt since it was tainted, but it was so quick, I didn't purify it. I guess barriers don't act like shards." She stopped a minute to reflect on that and petted Shippo's hair as well as his cute fluffy tail.

When she continued talking, her voice reflected the disgust at the dealings with that big female demon. "They were taking me to their leader who was going to drink my blood and eat my soul! She was big and nasty! I mean, she even killed the guy who carried me because she couldn't drink my blood because of the infection! Then she tossed him away like trash!"

Sango thought, '_Only Kagome would care about how underlings were treated, even if they were kidnapping her_. _Yep, it's definitely our Kagome_.'

Kagome's face crinkled in a frown as she tried to remember something that seemed important. "The big demon said something. What was it? Something about… my soul? Hmmm." She rubbed her temples with her right hand as she strained to search through the haze of her memories. It would have been easier is she were not so sick with fever and fighting the poison at the time.

She shrieked, "That's it! She said the poison didn't only paralyze, but that it was meant to loosen my soul from my body so she could eat it easier! I somehow made a barrier to keep my soul right where it belonged! I mean, if I wasn't about to let Urasue, Kikyo or Kanna have my soul, why would I let some big, mean bat have it?"

She lunged up onto her knees, dropped Shippo and grabbed Miroku by his purple robes and sounded desperate, "Miroku, you've got to help me! Do you know any charms or sutras that will prevent someone from getting my soul? Something that will keep my soul where it belongs?" She closed her eyes and shuddered as her hands clenched tighter. "I don't want to go through this ever again!"

Miroku placed a supporting arm around her shoulders, careful not to let it wander into forbidden territory. Gently, he lowered her back to her sitting position and tried to loosen the fists wrapped in his robe. The memory of the pain and discomfort flitted across Kagome's face and Miroku was close enough that he could almost feel her pain. It must have been truly awful.

In her agitated state, Kagome's barrier resurfaced, and the contact between her hands and his abdomen became painful. So, in essence, he truly COULD feel her pain. In his best calming voice, Miroku reassured, "Of course I will help you, Lady Kagome. You need not even ask. Between Lady Kaede and myself, I'm sure there is something we can do."

The doe like eyes turned up to look in his face with tears framing their eerie depths. The gratitude shining there almost made Miroku feel ashamed of his past perverted thoughts about this angel. He had to shake himself and remove her hands from his clothes. He knew if he did not, that an irritated half demon or demon slayer would soon take offense and forcibly remove him.

Once Kagome was assured that the monk would help keep her soul in place, she added another stipulation. "Maybe we could also find a sutra that would protect me from poisoning too? Because I've got to say, this is getting old! Being paralyzed really sucks!"

It was Sango's turn to comment, "But Kagome, you were already moving around by the time I got through the barrier to you. You weren't paralyzed."

Kagome frowned again, and tried to remember the fuzzy events. "You know, you're right. I seem to remember thinking that maybe since the poison was created through the tainted jewel shard that it didn't have as strong an effect on me as they thought it should. You know, like how Naraku's miasma doesn't seem to affect me. Maybe because the jewel came from inside me, things made from it can't hurt me, or I have some defense against them? But, I wasn't totally free from the paralysis until I touched and purified that barrier. It was like my own barrier convinced the bigger barrier to be pure. It was really strange. And there was some power backlash that nearly blew me across the room. I think that backlash wiped out the last of the poison, because I could move freely after that. Then I think you guys showed up. Or at least, that's what I seem to remember. It's all rather foggy around that time."

Inuyasha growled with smug satisfaction, "Yea, we showed up and took out that demon queen and all those lowlife bats of hers." Kagome just smiled up at him and whispered, "Thanks for coming to get me, you guys. I was getting really tired of being underground."

Sango dropped Kirara and suggested, "Maybe we should get going to Kaede's village? It's getting late and I'm sure you would like a real meal." As Kirara transformed, Kagome seemed to suddenly remember something important. She shouted, "Food! Oh!" and turned to search for Sesshomaru who still stood like a confused statue just outside the circle of friends. A smile bigger than any he had ever seen flashed across her face as she exclaimed, "Oh, Lord Sesshomaru! You're still here! I promised I'd make you some real Ramen once we got out of there! You must stay so I can keep my promise. I'd feel terrible if you thought my food was so awful! I'm sure I've got enough to make a batch big enough to feed everyone here. It can be a celebration meal for getting out of that awful cave!"

All the eyes of her group pivoted to look questioningly at the demon lord. Even Koga seemed curious to hear his response. He was stuck. He couldn't very well use his typical line of "This Sesshomaru does not eat human food." Since by her speech, it was obvious he had already eaten her food. If he refused her offer of food, he would be forcing her to dishonor a promise. If he accepted her meal, he would be forced to endure more exposure to the two idiots (Inuyasha and Koga). Still, he could always just accept by silence. If he didn't say no, he was sure she would take his lack of response as a yes.

So, in true Sesshomaru fashion, he simply seated himself against a tree slightly away from the group circled around the girl and the campfire. And in true Kagome fashion, she took his actions to mean he would not refuse her offer of Ramen, prepared the proper way. So, with renewed enthusiasm, she dug the horrible dry noodles out of her trusty backpack and sent Miroku off to gather water.

Sango helped her prepare the pots and pans needed to boil the water for drinking and cooking since Kagome was still sore and sporting injuries. The lack of mobility did not diminish her spirits although her energy from the restoring sleep seemed to be waning. It seemed the priestess blossomed out in the sunlight that she had longed for deep in the cave.

Inuyasha, in true Inuyasha form, grumbled about anyone outside their group eating "HIS" precious Ramen, and that he had missed it terribly while she was gone. It almost sounded like the only reason he searched for Kagome was because she managed to take the entire Ramen supply with her. This of course earned him a face plant, but it was a gentle one. Kagome didn't want to embarrass him in front of Sesshomaru and Koga. Pride was a fragile thing for a male. Her mother had told her that years ago when the boys had started showing an interest in her. Even though Kagome didn't think of the boys in that manner, her mother had reinforced that it was wrong to just shoot them down as Kagome usually did. She had to learn finesse and subtly. Luckily, neither of those things was needed in the Feudal era. Here it was better to just smack the guy over the head with the facts and/or a weapon, then move on to the next emergency.

Miroku returned with the water and handed it off to the girls. He stepped back and found a good resting place. With a thoughtful frown, he addressed Kagome, "Lady Kagome, could you tell me more about the power backlash you mentioned from touching the barrier? Did it feel evil?"

Kagome paused in her process of breaking up the blocks of noodles before dropping them into the big pan of boiling water. The process was being slowed by her bandaged hand. She looked off into the distance as she tried to explain, "Well, it was weird but it didn't feel evil. The first time I went through it, it stung me. Like little burns at the ends of my nerve endings. When I tried to go through it later, I had already erected a small barrier around my soul to keep that witch from eating it. So, when I got close to the barrier, it seemed to react to my little barrier. In an instant, the big barrier turned pink, and this big blast of energy ran back into me. It was like the energy was happy to have come home. I remember thinking it was like my barrier had convinced the bigger barrier to be pure because it stayed pure when I moved away. Of course, it might have just been my imagination. I was kinda out of it at the time." She smiled a bit sheepishly at her admission.

Sesshomaru simply sat and watched the interactions of this strange group of friends. He listened to all the discussions. Some were intelligent, like the one about the barrier, and some were asinine, like Inuyasha trying to convince Koga that Kagome was NOT HIS WOMAN. Of course, this last conversation was conducted at the top of their lungs, and ended with name-calling, fur-pulling and fist-fighting. Truly, it was a wonder that Naraku could feel threatened by these childish imbeciles.

In the short amount of time it took for Kagome to cook this Ramen he was obliged to try, Sesshomaru had formulated several brilliant strategies to insinuate himself into this little group. His plans ranged from brilliantly subtle accidental interactions to simply beating Inuyasha over the head and demanding admission. Being the strategist he was known for, he would start simple and continue until he obtained his goal. And his goal was to further study the puzzle that was Kagome. Of course, the added bonus of using Inuyasha's group as bait to draw out Naraku wouldn't hurt either.

So, finally, Kagome limped towards the seated demon lord, holding out a dubiously flimsy bowl that seemed to be made of parchment. An enticing smell reached his nose and he could not believe this was the same tasteless food that he had eaten in the cave. His normal contrariness reared its ugly head and he almost refused the food simply on principle. Yet, the smile on her face reminded him so much of Rin when she would offer him what she considered a particularly beautiful flower that she had picked just for him. He settled his conscience by reminding him that he was trying this because it was food from the future. It was not normal human food of this era. Maybe in the future, humans learned how to prepare food in ways other than just burned.

He nodded as he took the bowl from her pale hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the others holding their bowls close to their faces with one hand and shoveling the flavored noodles into their mouths with a set of chopsticks. That would be impossible with only one arm, but he was sure he could make this work and retain his dignity. He looped the end of his Mokomoko-sama in a tight circle and placed the flimsy bowl directly in the middle. This offered the support the bowl needed and freed his hand to maneuver the chopsticks. To his shock and surprise, the food tasted incredible. It was a flavor he had never dreamed of. He tried his best not to react in any way, but Kagome simply smiled as he continued eating, knowing that this alone was comment enough for Sesshomaru.

After everyone had finished the Ramen, and tea had been poured and consumed, it was time for Sesshomaru to take his little band off to do whatever demon lords did when there wasn't a battle looming. Also, Kagome had realized that even though Sesshomaru had done an incredible job of drawing the infection out of her system, she still probably needed some antibiotics from her time to eradicate the remaining infection. So, it was with reluctance that she mentioned that she needed to go back to her time for treatment. As the two groups prepared to depart, Kagome hobbled as best she could over to where Sesshomaru supervised Jakken bustling Rin up onto the dragon. As she neared, the demon lord turned slightly to observe the priestess from the corner of his eye.

Kagome bowed deeply, to the shock of her friends and Jakken. In her most sincere voice she announced, "Lord Sesshomaru, I just wanted to thank you for all your help when we were trapped in the cave. And I also wanted to thank you for leading my friends back to find me. I know you didn't have to do that. So if there is any way I can repay you in the future, I hope you will not hesitate to ask. Thank you so very much."

She straightened up and smiled a sincere smile at the stoic man and turned to make her way to Kirara. In a moment, the fire cat had launched into the sky with an irritated Inuyasha leaping alongside, grumbling about how Kagome "didn't owe that bastard anything." Koga turned and sped off in a whirlwind of dust to rejoin his pack and his own hunt for Naraku.

Sesshomaru watched the groups recede into the distance, and then turned to his own band. "Let's go home, Rin, Jakken." As they walked out of the clearing, life seemed to settle back into its usual pattern. He almost wanted to sigh as the irritating voices of Inuyasha and his group fled from his ears. He would suffer Jakken's annoying squawk over Inuyasha's brashness any day. The routine and predictable lifestyle made him feel comfortable. But, even though it felt the same, he knew something had changed, possibly forever. His horizons had broadened to include the pursuit of knowledge of this priestess and the future. He would figure her out. He would learn all she had to offer about the future of this world. It was only a matter of time. Time and thought. He had plenty of the latter, so he headed towards a certain ancient tree demon to inquire about gaining more of the former. Because it just wouldn't do to have his intriguing mystery die before he had uncovered her truths.

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AN: To those faithful readers who have waited so patiently, I apologize for the length of time between chapters. My job requires me to use the analytical parts of my brain so thoroughly, that I just have nothing left when I get home. All I have wanted to do for the last 3 months when I got home was to read someone else's fanfiction.

Also, the chapter 19 that I wrote back in October just did not satisfy me. I refused to post a sub-standard chapter, so I waited for a solution to strike me. That happened yesterday, and here we are. I hope this slightly extended chapter helps satisfy your past cravings for more Forced Contemplation.

Next chapter, Kagome continues acting weird, but is unaware when she does so. She turns to Miroku and Kaede for help.


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